Four-Winged Dinosaur Definition Doesn't Fly | The Institute for Creation Research

Four-Winged Dinosaur Definition Doesn't Fly

What does it mean to be a dinosaur? Older generations understood dinosaurs as reptiles with hip structures that pointed their legs straight down, instead of out to the side to produce the sprawling waddle we see in crocodiles and lizards. Those old-timers probably never imagined that scientists would one day insist that dinosaurs grew feathers. Modern scientists seem to hold a broader, looser definition of dinosaurs, and a new fossil find has found its way into the often-blurred region between dinosaurs and birds. Was it really a dinosaur?

An international team of scientists described a new fossil in Nature Communications from Chinese sediments famous for their supposed feathered dinosaur specimens.1 Like a handful of previous finds, this new example apparently had four wings. Fossil impressions show flight feathers extending not only from the front wings of Changyuraptor yangi, but also from a pair of hind wings, making this the largest four-winged creature yet found in fossils.

It looks as though the unique creature could run, walk, or fly by using its dual-function hind limbs as either legs or wings. Now, evolutionary biologists are interested in fitting the creature's funny format into a dino-to-bird fable.

If this ancient creature really represents an evolutionary transition between dinosaurs and birds then details in its anatomy should look part-dinosaur and part-bird. For example, perhaps it should show feathery forelimbs that could not quite generate the lift required for flight. Ironically, however, the study authors insisted that Changyuraptor exemplified dino-to-bird transition, but on the other hand described it as a unique but fully functional flying creature.

They wrote, "Full sets of pennaceous [flight] feathers form extensive 'hindwings.'" Not only did the animal have a full set of feathers, but each feather was fully formed, not made of 'protofeather' fibers. The study authors also wrote, "They [symmetrical feathers] exhibit strong rachises and the vanes remain barbed throughout the length of the feathers."1

Changyuraptor had "a unique combination of traits" that worked and fit together as though it was purposefully designed. The study authors analyzed its long, feathered tail, noting that it could generate a significant part of the bird's aerial lift. The tail seemed well suited to steady the creature's flight while the wings made small adjustments in pitch. They called the creature "highly adaptive for controlling rapid descent," which is just an evolution-leaning way to say "highly specified for controlling rapid descent."1

Do these unique features fit evolution's expected transitions? Do these descriptions of wings, flight feathers and flight control dynamics sound even remotely dinosaurian? It doesn't seem so. Changyuraptor had the same kinds of features as birds.

Four-winged birds, complete with fully-formed feathers and appropriately proportioned tails might be called "dinosaurs" by those more committed to the belief that dinosaurs evolved into birds than they are committed to following the actual evidence.

Perhaps like the recent author who reverted back to calling a long-time bird a dinosaur after a second look at the evidence,2 these evolutionary researchers may one day regret having referred to Changyuraptor as a "four-winged dinosaur." Changyuraptor had none of the transitional features required to morph a real dinosaur into a bird. True, it was unlike any of today's familiar birds, but as the saying goes, if it quacks like a duck, has feathers like a duck, then it's probably a duck. In this case, bird wings and feathers don't make a dinosaur, but rather an exquisitely well-fashioned four-winged flying bird.

References

  1. Han, G. et al. A new raptorial dinosaur with exceptionally long feathering provides insights into dromaeosaurid flight performance. Nature Communications. Published online before print, July 15, 2014.
  2. Thomas, B. Second Look Causes Scientist to Reverse Dino-Bird Claim. Creation Science Update. Posted on icr.org July 18, 2014, accessed July 29, 2014.

* Mr. Thomas is Science Writer at the Institute for Creation Research.

Article posted on July 30, 2014.

The Latest
ACTS & FACTS
Creation Kids: Crystals!
by Michael Stamp and Susan Windsor* You're never too young to be a creation scientist and explore our Creator's world. Kids, discover...

APOLOGETICS
Playing Chess with Little Furry Critters
God’s multifarious and marvelous designs for basic creature needs are so innovatively clever and providentially purposeful that Christ’s...

ACTS & FACTS
Credit Only Our Creator
History was my favorite subject as a young kid. But it always puzzled me when my teachers said, “We study history so that we don’t repeat...

ACTS & FACTS
Genomic Tandem Repeats: Where Repetition Is Purposely Adaptive
Tandem repeats (TRs) are short sequences of DNA repeated over and over again like the DNA letter sequence TACTACTAC, which is a repetition of TAC three...

ACTS & FACTS
Dinosaur National Monument: Fossil Graveyard of the Flood
Straddling the border of Utah and Colorado, Dinosaur National Monument (DNM) is one of the richest exposures of dinosaur fossils in the world.1...

ACTS & FACTS
The Transforming Influence of Genesis: Worker Dignity and Safety
When Pharisees questioned the Lord Jesus about marriage, He answered by quoting Genesis 1:27: “But from the beginning of the creation, God ‘made...

NEWS
Giant ''Meg'' Shark: Longer and Leaner?
Fossil remains of the giant shark Otodus megalodon have been found in Miocene1 and Pliocene2 rock layers, which ICR scientists...

CREATION.LIVE PODCAST
Searching for Truth Across the Globe | Creation.Live Podcast:...
How can we bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the truth of creation to others outside our small spheres of influence?   Host...

NEWS
Marine Mammals: Designed for Deep Diving
While you’re reading this, hold your breath. What is now happening is your blood is delivering the last of oxygenated blood cells to your tissues...

CREATION PODCAST
Humanity's Demise at the Hands of Genetic Entropy | The Creation...
Welcome to the fourth episode in a series called “The Failures of Old Earth Creationism.” Many Christians attempt to fit old earth...