T. rex Even Bigger Than Once Thought

One of the lines in the National Geographic article on the announcement reminded me of a common question we are asked here at AiG. The article stated (emphasis added):

The find suggests that large predatory dinosaurs probably got older and bigger than paleontologists would have surmised based on currently available fossils. Among the known species, T. rex is one of the best represented extinct dinosaurs, with more than 20 fossil individuals identified.

Now, many people have the impression we have many fossil representatives of each, or at least most, dinosaur species. But often that’s not the case. The clear majority of the fossil record is made up of sea creatures (understandably since the flood of Noah was a marine catastrophe), particularly corals and shellfish, and only a tiny fraction is vertebrates, of which an even tinier fraction is dinosaurs.

And that brings me to the question we’re frequently asked, “Why don’t we find dinosaurs and humans buried together?” Well, the first thing to recognize is how scanty the fossil record is when it comes to land creatures—there are only 20 incomplete fossil individuals of T. rex! Since marine creatures are more numerous than land-dwelling vertebrates and since the flood was a marine catastrophe, it makes sense that most of our fossils are of marine creatures, not dinosaurs or people.

Also, just because something wasn’t buried together doesn’t mean they didn’t live together. There are many creatures in the wild today that humans rarely cross paths with, such as snow leopards or giant pandas. And, honestly, in a sin-cursed and broken world, who’s going to want to live near T. rex anyway? Just because humans and dinosaurs aren’t found buried in the same layers doesn’t mean humans didn’t once live at the same time. And there are many creatures alive that live alongside man today, that are also found as fossils in the same layers as dinosaurs yet they’re not found with human fossils!

Bodie Hodge has written an excellent and more thorough response to this question in our New Answers Book 1 and you can read that chapter here.

Get More Answers on Answers News

I discussed this item today on Answers News with cohosts Dr. Georgia Purdom and Bodie Hodge. Answers News is our twice-weekly news program filmed live before a studio audience here at the Creation Museum and broadcast on my Facebook page and the Answers in Genesis Facebook page. We also covered the following topics:

• Fast-shrinking glacier is growing.
• ‘Nones’ now as big as evangelicals, Catholics in the US.
• Are Christian adoptive services over in Michigan?
• And more!
Watch the video on YouTube.

Watch the entire episode of Answers News for April 4, 2019.

Be sure to join us each Monday and Thursday at 2 p.m. (EDT) on my Facebook page or the Answers in Genesis Facebook page for Answers News. You won’t want to miss this unique news program that gives science and culture news from a distinctly biblical and Christian perspective.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken

This item was written with the assistance of AiG’s research team.