Page 18 - Masters Sample Courses

Unbridled hoopla attended the unveiling of a 47-million-year-old primate
skeleton at the American Museum of Natural History in New York on May 19,
1983. Ida was hailed as the missing link and the “eighth wonder of the
12
world.” Ida turned out to be the fossil of a lemur, lacking only a grooming
claw and a row of fused teeth.

Tiktaalik
Despite substantial differences between the fossilized
fish Tiktaalik (supposed 380 Million years ago) and terrestrial tetrapods,
many evolutionists insist Tiktaalik was a transitional form. However, the
fleshy fins of Tiktaalik do not attach to the bony pelvis and so could not
support weight for walking. Furthermore, the bones in the fins of these fossil
fish do not resemble digits. It was just a fish. Pictured to the right,
evolutionists suggest that it was the first fish to come out of the water and
walk on land. The huge problem is that it used gills for breathing. Its legs and lungs had to evolve
simultaneously. No chance!

What about Human Fossils?
So have paleontologists been able to unearth ancient fossils that would form a link between the apes
and modern man? Most fossils of men remain essentially the same as modern man and some are really
a problem for the evolutionists.

Homology

Evolutions have other ways they seek to validate their theory. One is
an argument from homology, or the similarity of structures. For
example, the bones of the forelimbs of a man, horse, bat, whale, and
dog share certain superficial structural similarities. These similar
structures are supposed to indicate that their possessors all came
from a common ancestor. This is one of the most appealing
arguments used by evolutionists because it appears to be supported
by visually observable evidence that can be readily perceived.

However, if similarities show evolutionary relationship, then dissimilarities should conversely show a
lack of relationship. The rule must be consistently applied and not simply ignored, as evolutionists do,
when the evidence conflicts with it. For example, the following structures are very similar to those in
humans: the octopus eye, pig heart, Pekingese dog’s face, milk of the donkey, and the pronator
quadratus muscle of the Japanese salamander. When considering red blook cells, man is more similar to
frogs, fish, and birds than to sheep. These homologies do not indicate close evolutionary relationships.
The evolutionary tree of life separates widely the octopus and man!
13

12 https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17173-why-ida-fossil-is-not-the-missing-link/
13 Luther D. Sunderland, Darwin’s Enigma, p. 123.