Page 237 - The Origin of Birds and Flight

Harun Yahya (Adnan Oktar) 235

acteristic feature of the dromaeosaurs—a group of
small and medium-sized carnivorous dino-
saurs that lived 144 to 66.4 million years
ago. 212 Even from an evolutionist perspec-
tive, this very different finger sequence
makes it impossible to construct a family rela-
tionship between Microraptor gui and birds. 213
In general, the anatomy of birds is very
different from that of dinosaurs, from
which they are said to be descend-
ed— and thus, from
that of Microraptor
gui. 214
3. Scientific devel-
opments regarding
Microraptor gui have shown that the
creature may not have been able to glide in the air, as had once
been estimated. Soon after Microraptor gui was described in
Nature, objections began to emerge from the scientific
world. Although Microraptor gui had been presented as
a flying creature, to the accompaniment of great
media fanfare, comments arose that in fact, it could
not fly at all. In the face of these latest interpretations,
National Geographic summarized the position of Microraptor gui:
But the Chinese team that studied M. gui, led by Xu Xing and Zhou
Zhonghe of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and
Paleoanthropology, doesn’t think this animal ran or flapped well
enough to take off. Its leg feathers would’ve tripped it up like a hurdler
in a ball gown.
Instead, the ample feathers could have formed an airfoil or parachute
similar to those of flying squirrels and other tree-dwelling gliders, the
scientists say. . . . Other scientists aren’t sure what to make of the new
fossil, arguing that gliding doesn’t necessarily evolve into powered