Page 110 - The Transitional Form Dilemma

THE TRANSITIONAL-FORM DILEMMA

The Origin of Birds’ Feathers
The Origin of Birds’ Feathers
Evolutionists maintain that feathers—a feature unique to birds,
and an exceedingly complex structure— evolved from reptilian scales.
Like the other distinctive features of birds, however, there exist no tran-
sitional forms in the fossil record to show how feathers evolved in a
gradual process. The fossil record has preserved reptiles’ scales, birds’
feathers, and even mammals’ fur and skin, but no creature has ever
been found with part-scale and part-feather structures to prove there
was an ongoing, gradual transition to fully-formed feathers.
Some evolutionists maintain that since birds have fragile, hollow
bones, they have not left well-preserved fossils behind them. That is
most definitely not so case. Birds and their feathers leave behind excel-
lent fossils, especially in regions formerly occupied by ancient lakes, in-
ternal bays and shallow seas. As a result, bird fossils are frequently
discovered.
In the same way that half-feather-half-scale, or half-skin-half-
feather structures have never been found in the fossil record, neither
have any with fewer feathers than present-day specimens. 72 In an arti-
cle in American Zoology magazine, Larry Dean Martin, and Stephen. A.
Czerkas, director of the Blanding Dinosaur Museum, write, “The oldest

REPTILE SCALES (picture 1), OF WHICH THERE
ARE MANY EXAMPLES IN THE FOSSIL RECORD 2

1