EvC Forum: Theropods and Birds showing a change in kinds

Creationists and IDists have asked for examples of one kind evolving into another and this is my attempt to share with them what I've found convincing of just that.

I went to a local park a while back and they had a little animal exibit with a petting zoo. In one of their cages they have an emu. I was standing on the other side of the fence looking this thing in the eyes and I couldn't help but notice that it did look like a dinosaur. I was messing with it a bit and the darn thing hissed at me!*(see below) It sounded just like a lizard. Then I looked at its feet and they really looked like some scaly-lizard dinosaur feet. And when you look at the whole animal, it is very similiar to a theropod dinosaur in shape.

Let's look at some pictures:

Here is a theropod:

Here is an ostrich (its close to an emu):

At first glance it should be obvious that these animals are two different kinds, but let's look closer.

Here's some skeletons:

I think they look similiar enough that you could get one from the other with microevolutionary changes. Their general 'body plan' is pretty similiar with the two long legs and small arms, kinda hunched over with a head on a long neck.

And look how similiar their feet are:

The emu feet still have scales on them!

And it doesn't take much imagination to see how feathers could be elongated and modified scales.

All these slight differences, or similarities, could easily be microevolutionary changes form to the other. But when we look at them as a whole, or in general, we see that they are different kinds.

I'm trying to be very general here and am not implying that ostriches are direct decendents of velociraptors, but I think its obvious that birds did decend from theropods. And that its a great example of one kind becomming another.

*here's the best youtube video I could find where you could hear an emu hiss. Turn it up and listen at 0:09 - 0:11:

Sounds like a lizard, doesn't it?

So what do you think? Two different kinds where one decended from the other through a bunch of microevolutionary changes.

I found it convincing. Do you?

ABE:

I don't intend this to be much of a scientific discussion, and don't want to get bogged down on defining 'kind', so I'd prefer it not in one of the science forums.

Edited by Catholic Scientist, : see ABE

5 online now:	dwise1, PaulK, Phat, Taq, Theodoric
Newest Member:	ChatGPT
Post Volume:	Total: 916,458 Year: 3,715/9,624 Month: 586/974 Week: 199/276 Day: 39/34 Hour: 2/2