Page 96 - Confessions of the Evolutionists

94 CONFESSIONS OF THE EVOLUTIONISTS

just about every evolutionist publication. The fact is, however, that the lat-

est researches into Archaeopteryx fossils have shown that the creature was
very definitely not any intermediate form, merely a highly perfect struc-
tured extinct species of bird with some features slightly different from
those of present-day birds.

The evidence that Archaeopteryx was a true bird and not a semi-di-
nosaur, semi-bird transitional form can be summarized as follows:
1. The fact that it had no sternum, or breastbone, with the same struc-
ture as that in today’s flying birds was depicted as the most important ev-
idence that Archaeopteryx could not fly. But the seventh Archaeopteryx fos-

sil to be discovered in 1992 provoked enormous astonishment among
evolutionist circles, because it did indeed possess a sternum of the kind
evolutionists had for long failed to believe in. Nature magazine said, "This
attests to its strong flight muscles." 244

This discovery totally invalidated the most fundamental basis for the
claim that Archaeopteryx was a proto-bird lacking the full ability to fly. It
has been realized that Archaeopteryx was a perfect species of bird that could fly
150 million years ago.
2. On the other hand, one of the main proofs that Archaeopteryx was

genuinely capable of flight is the animal's asymmetrical feather structure,
identical to that in present-day birds, showing that it was able to fly per-
fectly.
3. Features that evolutionists rely on when portraying Archaeopteryx

as an intermediate form are the claws on its wings and the teeth in its
mouth. However, these features do not demonstrate that it was connect-
ed to reptiles in any way. Two living species of birds, the Taouraco and
Hoatzin, also have claws that allow them to cling to branches. Yet they are
fully fledged birds, with no reptilian characteristics whatsoever.
Therefore, the idea that Archaeopteryx was an intermediate form because

of its clawed wings is totally invalid.