Page 624 - Atlas of Creation Volume 2

The discovery of Latimeria raised hopes of gathering direct information on the transition of fish to amphibians,

for there was then a long-held belief that coelacanths were close to the ancestry of tetrapods. ...But studies of the
anatomy and physiology of Latimeria have found this theory of relationship to be wanting and the living coela-
canth's reputation as a missing link seems unjustified. 63

This meant that the only serious claim of a transitional form between fish and amphibians had been de-
molished.

Physical Obstacles to Transition from Water to Land

The claim that fish are the ancestors of land-dwelling creatures is invalidated by anatomical and physio-
logical observations as much as by the fossil record. When we examine the huge anatomical and physiological

differences between water- and land-dwelling creatures, we can see that these differences could not have dis-
appeared in an evolutionary process with gradual changes based on chance. We can list the most evident of
these differences as follows
1- Weight-bearing: Sea-dwelling creatures have no problem in bearing their own weight in the sea, al-
though the structures of their bodies are not made for such a task on land. However, most land-dwelling crea-

tures consume 40 percent of their energy just in carrying their bodies around. Creatures claimed to make the
transition from water to land would at the same time need new muscular and skeletal systems to meet this en-
ergy need, and this could not have come about by chance mutations.
The basic reason why evolutionists imagine the coelacanth and similar fish to be the ancestors of land-
dwelling creatures is that their fins contain bones. It is assumed that over time these fins turned into load-bear-
ing feet. However, there is a fundamental difference between these fish's bones and land-dwelling creatures'

feet. It is impossible for the former to take on a load-bearing function, as they are not linked to the backbone.
Land-dwelling creatures' bones, in contrast, are directly connected to the backbone. For this reason, the claim
that these fins slowly developed into feet is unfounded.
2- Heat retention: On land, the temperature can change quickly, and fluctuates over a wide range. Land-
dwelling creatures possess a physical mechanism that can withstand such great temperature changes.

However, in the sea, the temperature changes slowly, and within a narrower range. A living organism with a

Nephron

Renal medulla

THE KIDNEY PROBLEM
Renal cortex Fish remove harmful substances from
their bodies directly into the water, but
Renal medulla land animals need kidneys. For this rea-
son, the scenario of transition from water
to the land requires kidneys to have de-
veloped by chance.
Renal artery However, kidneys possess an exceedingly
complex structure and, what is more, the
kidney needs to be 100 percent present
Renal vein and in complete working order in order
to function. A kidney developed 50, or
Renal pelvis 70, or even 90 percent will serve no func-
tion. Since the theory of evolution de-
Renal sinus
pends on the assumption that "organs that
Ureter
are not used disappear," a 50 percent-de-
veloped kidney will disappear from the
body in the first stage of evolution.
Renal
papilla
Renal capsule

622 Atlas of Creation Vol. 2