Page 76 - The Origin of Birds and Flight

74 The Origin of Birds and Flight

John Ruben, an expert in evolutionary respiratory physiology at
Oregon State University, has this to say:

Recently, conventional wisdom has held that birds are direct descend-
ants of theropod dinosaurs. However the apparently steadfast mainte-
nance of hepatic-piston diaphragmatic lung ventilation in theropods
throughout the Mesozoic poses fundamental problems for such a rela-
tionship. The earliest stages in the derivation of the avian abdominal air
sac system from a diaphragmatic-ventilating ancestor would have
necessitated selection for a diaphragmatic hernia [or hole] in taxa tran-
sitional between theropod and birds. Such a debilitating condition
would have immediately compromised the entire pulmonary ventilato-
ry apparatus and seems unlikely to have been of any selective advan-
tage. 55
In short, any direct transition from the reptile lung to the bird lung is
impossible. This important scientific evidence demonstrates the ground-
lessness of the “avian evolution” thesis and shows that our Almighty
Lord created birds together with their unique physical designs.