More Feathered Dinosaur Follies

Advocates of bird-to-dinosaur evolution got the bit between their teeth and are running wild. Whenever there's something that can be even remotely seen as a "feather" it trumpet as evidence of said evolution. Not only are they arguing from their presuppositions (an all too common occurrence), they are conducting sloppy science.

Made from images found at Clker

A few years ago, markings on an ostrich-like fossil had a kinda maybe sorta resemblance to feather filaments. A newer study supposedly affirms the previous study In both cases, the mad runaways did not examine the evidence thoroughly or examine other possibilities. One of those is that the keratin structure resembles feather filaments, but the same kind of keratin structure is also found in reptiles and other critters, including humans. Another bit of sloppy science is that this alleged transitional form is the wrong age, since actual birds appear earlier in the fossil record according to their own reckoning. Third, there is skin and other soft tissues in the fossil. These owlhoots really need to do their homework before making announcements. 

What we really have is a dinosaur that is just what it was created to be: a dinosaur without feathers. Filaments are not feathers! We also have no evidence for evolution, old son.

Fuzz on an Ornithomimus fossil found in 2009 supposedly fluffs out the feathery picture of this dinosaur paleontologists commonly call the “ostrich mimic.” Building on a previous claim that Ornithomimus had feathered ostrich-like wings, the latest research demonstrates that its so-called feathers were reduced to fibrous wisps on most of the body and that the hind legs were virtually bare.

The latest study, published in an October 2015 issue of Cretaceous Research, builds on assertions in another study from a few year’s ago. As we discussed in “Feathered Dinosaurs Found in Canada?,” Darla Zelenitsky’s team found some straight markings on another Ornithomimus fossil’s front leg bones. Measuring up to a quarter of an inch long, her team thought the lines were what the insertion points of shafted feather quills would look like if fossilized. Therefore, they interpreted these as proof that Ornithomimus had abundant wing feathers. When we say “builds on” we mean that quite literally, for the fossil studied by van der Reest’s team had no preserved front limbs nor any bones with the markings like those described in Zelenitsky’s specimen. Therefore, they include photographs of Zelenitsky’s fossil in their study. This helps them complete the picture they paint of a very ostrich-like dinosaur strutting about with plumaceous wings, downy body, and naked legs.

To read the rest and see some interesting images, click on "Ostrich-Mimic' Is an Un-Feathered Dinosaur". Another flap about feathers on a dinosaur fossils fails when adequate evidence is considered.