Page 98 - The Transitional Form Dilemma

THE TRANSITIONAL-FORM DILEMMA

their beaks. This was for long portrayed as evidence of evolution, al-
though it was subsequently realized that bird teeth are quite unique.
Feduccia writes on the subject:
Perhaps the most impressive difference between theropods and birds concerns
the structure of teeth and the nature of their implantation. . . It is astounding
that more attention has not been given to the dramatic differences between bird
and theropod teeth (Table 1), especially when one considers that the basis of
mammal paleontology involves largely tooth morphology. . . . To be brief, bird
teeth (as seen in Archaeopteryx, Hesperornis, Parahesperornis, Ichthyornis,
Cathayornis, and all toothed Mesozoic birds) are remarkably similar and are
unlike those of theropods . . . There is essentially no shared, derived relation-
ship of any aspect of tooth morphology between birds and theropods, including
tooth form, implantation, or replacement. 58

5) Birds are warm-blooded, and reptiles cold-blooded. This indi-
cates two completely different metabolisms, and random mutations
could not possibly have performed any transition between the two by.
(The thesis that dinosaurs were actually warm- blooded was put for-
ward in order to resolve this. Yet a great deal of evidence disproves that
thesis, which itself rests on no evidence.) 59

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