The Institute for Creation Research

Evolutionists are celebrating the discovery of what they claim is a small dinosaur skull trapped in Burmese amber.¹

Oculudentavis khaungraae is declared to be a tiny Mesozoic dinosaur that is 99 million years old. Yet, the physical traits point to it being 100% bird. Lars Schmitz, associate professor of biology, stated, “Its unique anatomical features point to one of the smallest and most ancient birds ever found.”¹

Indeed, for a paleontologist not having a strange dinosaur-to-bird evolutionary bias and looking at this evidence, the fossil would simply be interpreted for what it is—100% bird. This is also true of the famous Archaeopteryx discovered in 1860, which is called “the most ancient recognized fossil bird”² and, “The first known bird....”³ In this new discovery, Xing and study authors call the O. khaungraae skull “bird-like.”⁴

The Phys.org article addresses “the presence of teeth” in Oculudentavis. But is this valid evidence of its dinosaurian (reptilian) ancestry? No. Although no living birds have socketed teeth, neither do some reptiles. The absence or presence of teeth is not particularly important in distinguishing the two groups. There are other distinct features of Oculudentavis, such as size and shape of the eye bones. But distinct features are also true of other fossil creatures such as the previously mentioned bird Archaeopteryx.

Evolutionists are comparing the size of this bird fossil to the size of another 100% bird: the tiny bee hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae) of Cuba, the smallest living bird.¹

God created dinosaurs as dinosaurs and birds as birds in the beginning.

Stage image: Picture of a bird skull specimen preserved in Burmese amber.
Stage image credit: Xing Lida. Copyright © 2020. Adapted for use in accordance with federal copyright (fair use doctrine) law. Usage by ICR does not imply endorsement of copyright holders.

References
1. Discovery of smallest known Mesozoic dinosaur reveals new species in bird. Physorg. Posted on PhysOrg.com March 11, 2020, accessed March 18, 2020.
2. Thain, M. and M. Hickman. 2004. The Penguin Dictionary of Biology, Penguin Books, 47.
3. Allaby, M. 2014. Dictionary of Zoology, 4th edition. Oxford University Press, 48.
4. Xing, L. et al. 2020. Hummingbird-sized dinosaur from the Cretaceous period of Myanmar. Nature. 579: 245-249.

*Mr. Sherwin is Research Associate is at ICR. He earned his master’s in zoology from the University of Northern Colorado.