Evolutionists now say that mammals may have traveled by air before birds, according to evolutionary interpretations of an allegedly 130 million-year-old fossil. The fossil has given rise to a new taxonomical order and species designation, Volaticotherium antiquus, that “is comparable in size and shape to flying squirrels … [but] is not considered a direct ancestor of these or other flying mammals.” Despite this difference, the V. Antiquus was discovered with a “large body skin … that [was] used for gliding,” similar, perhaps, to a flying squirrel.
But what's really interesting is how the researchers, led by Jin Meng of the American Museum of Natural History, knew about this large body skin and its role:
The fossil also preserved a large piece of the animal's skin membrane [image].
“We know this [was skin] because it was covered with dense hair,” Meng said. “The fur or body hair is another mammalia characteristic.”
This find truly showcases the vast chasm of differing interpretations based on one's presuppositions.
This find truly showcases the vast chasm of differing interpretations based on one's presuppositions. The evolutionist who reads about this discovery will likely accept the “revised dates” for earliest mammalian air travel, accept that this fossil just happened to be preserved before the skin (or fur, apparently) had time to be destroyed, and accept that this organism evolved the capability to fly (to some degree) independently, as the article points out.
The creationist, on the other hand, accepts this fossil as another flying mammal created by God and destroyed in the catastrophic (and, in some cases, skin-preserving) Flood of Noah's day, about 4500 years ago.
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