Concealed Weapon in the Womb

Smalltooth sawfish are born displaying cutting-edge design. The needle-sharp teeth on their long snouts are covered in special sheaths to protect their mother and siblings. During gestation and delivery, the saw is covered by a strong, nonpeeling tissue. Recently, scientists discovered that this sheath is made of two tissue layers, similar to an epidermis and dermis. About four days after the sawfish is born, this protective skin comes off.

“It's a cool thing Mother Nature figured out,” said biologist Gregg Poulakis with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. But contrary to a naturalistic perspective, the sawfish sheath could not have arisen by chance through natural causes. How would a mother sawfish have survived until the sheaths evolved? This “cool thing” is not the result of evolution but the design of a good Creator!

This article is from Answers magazine, October–December, 2024, p. 16.