Coincident existence of dinosaurs and man as evidence against the theory of evolution

[siti]

Never mind. I couldn't get it to work. Take my word, that bird had big nasty teeth.

Are you sure it wasn't the rabbit of caerbannog?

 

[Dan From Smithville]

Are you sure it wasn't the rabbit of caerbannog?

No. I know him. We usually go out for beers and chasing does when I am in Caerbannog. I was definitely a bird with big nasty teeth and not a rabbit.

 

[Bear Wild]

Are you sure it wasn't the rabbit of caerbannog?

You silly sod! You are getting us worked up over a rabbit!

 

[SomeRandom]

Aren’t birds classified as Therapods, a subspecies of dinosaurs anyway?

 

[Dan From Smithville]

Aren’t birds classified as Therapods, a subspecies of dinosaurs anyway?

Birds are seen as the existing descendants of dinosaurs. I do not have it, but I believe it was Subduction Zone that provided a large number of references that support the position of birds and their connection to dinosaurs.

 

[Dan From Smithville]

Aren’t birds classified as Therapods, a subspecies of dinosaurs anyway?

In that context, dinosaurs could be said to still exist.

 

[SomeRandom]

Birds are seen as the existing descendants of dinosaurs. I do not have it, but I believe it was Subduction Zone that provided a large number of references that support the position of birds and their connection to dinosaurs.

Well that’s what we learnt way back in like grade 3/4 with basic archeology. I think it was a relatively new discovery at the time.

That said, I was always upset that the module didn’t conclude with watching Jurassic Park. Now there’s a learning aid if ever I saw one, it even brought up the relationship of birds and dinosaurs! It was perfect damnit!

 

[Dan From Smithville]

Well that’s what we learnt way back in like grade 3/4 with basic archeology. I think it was a relatively new discovery at the time.

That said, I was always upset that the module didn’t conclude with watching Jurassic Park. Now there’s a learning aid if ever I saw one, it even brought up the relationship of birds and dinosaurs! It was perfect damnit!

That movie was the topic of discussion around the office when it came out. Some of the molecular biologists I know, took it rather seriously and were a little snarky about some of the artistic license claimed in their area of science.

 

[SomeRandom]

That movie was the topic of discussion around the office when it came out. Some of the molecular biologists I know, took it rather seriously and were a little snarky about some of the artistic license claimed in their area of science.

Interesting.
I think I first saw it when I was like 6 or 7. I either had it on VHS or taped it from TV, I can’t remember. It was awesome!

 

[Dan From Smithville]

Interesting.
I think I first saw it when I was like 6 or 7. I either had it on VHS or taped it from TV, I can’t remember. It was awesome!

I agree. I really like that movie. It was awesome. The idea of extracting DNA from insects trapped in amber was originally popularized by an entomologist named George Poinar. He has successfully extracted DNA from insects that have been trapped in amber for millions of years. No dino DNA that I know of and no dinosaurs have been recreated from the work either.

 

[SomeRandom]

I agree. I really like that movie. It was awesome. The idea of extracting DNA from insects trapped in amber was originally popularized by an entomologist named George Poinar. He has successfully extracted DNA from insects that have been trapped in amber for millions of years. .

Fascinating.

. No dino DNA that I know of and no dinosaurs have been recreated from the work either.

 

[Dan From Smithville]

Fascinating.

Unless someone knows of some recent work--I have not kept that close an eye on it--there has, sadly, been no recovery of ancient dinosaur DNA.

 

[Valjean]

I do not think I would want to go head to head with an ostrich. Just recently I read about a Florida man that was killed by his cassowary.

I think there may be some birds with teeth. If you look closely at this picture I took off the interet, you may be able to see the teeth. If it is on the internet, it must be true.

Never mind. I couldn't get it to work. Take my word, that bird had big nasty teeth.

I don't know that any modern birds have true teeth, but some have very toothlike serrations or pointy structures in their mouths. Brush Your Beak: 10 Amazing Birds With Teeth - WebEcoist

I also recall a frog I examined once that had toothlike bumps around the perimeter of its jaw. Wierd...

 

[QuestioningMind]

Would the discovery that a few or even one species of dinosaur existed contemporaneously with man at any point in our history or even now, be evidence against the theory of evolution? Why?

Is the theory of evolution contingent on the complete extinction of dinosaurs 65 million years ago or shortly after that?

There are those who would argue that alligators and crocodiles are modern day dinosaurs.

 

[Dan From Smithville]

There are those who would argue that alligators and crocodiles are modern day dinosaurs.

I know that they are groups that have existed for many millions of years, but I am not up on my vertebrate paleontology and systematics to the extent that I am familiar with those views. It has been 32 years since I took herpetology, but I recall they have some relationship to birds that might support such an argument.

 

[Valjean]

There are those who would argue that alligators and crocodiles are modern day dinosaurs.

I think you'd have to have a pretty loose definition of dinosaur to support this. Sure, they were coeval, but so were many other creatures no-one would confuse with dinosaurs.

 

[Dan From Smithville]

I think you'd have to have a pretty loose definition of dinosaur to support this. Sure, they were coeval, but so were many other creatures no-one would confuse with dinosaurs.

The only evidence I know of off the top of my head is the ancient relationship with birds. I recall that the structure of the crocodilian heart is more like avian and mammal hearts with four chambers and less like the reptilian three-chambered heart. I am not sure how significant that one trait is.

 

[Dan From Smithville]

I don't know that any modern birds have true teeth, but some have very toothlike serrations or pointy structures in their mouths. Brush Your Beak: 10 Amazing Birds With Teeth - WebEcoist

I also recall a frog I examined once that had toothlike bumps around the perimeter of its jaw. Wierd...

I have seen some of the birds that have those projections. It gives a saw-like appearance to the edge of the bill.

I do not recall noticing anything tooth-like in amphibians, though it has been some time since I looked.

 

[blü 2]

Would the discovery that a few or even one species of dinosaur existed contemporaneously with man at any point in our history or even now, be evidence against the theory of evolution? Why?

Birds are the direct descendants of the dinosaurs. Does that count?

Is the theory of evolution contingent on the complete extinction of dinosaurs 65 million years ago or shortly after that?

Well, a lot of them went extinct, but not all ─ see previous para.

But even if there were no birds, or feathered critters were mammalian in origin, none of that would be evidence against evolution.

Haldane famously remarked that evidence against evolution would be finding a rabbit [fossil] in the pre-Cambrian. As has since been counter-remarked, no, it would only show that our understanding of the evolution of mammals had some very basic errors, not that evolution doesn't occur.

One way to falsify the theory of evolution, or a very large chunk of it, would be to show that what we think is natural selection is in fact due to an entirely different natural process ─ for example, a study that showed the genes of 'survival of the fittest' losers continued to be present in the same proportions in the genetics of the offspring of the winners. That would be in the face of a great deal of evidence supporting the theory of evolution, but still, if it could nonetheless be shown, it'd do the trick.

 

[ChristineM]

Would the discovery that a few or even one species of dinosaur existed contemporaneously with man at any point in our history or even now, be evidence against the theory of evolution? Why?

Is the theory of evolution contingent on the complete extinction of dinosaurs 65 million years ago or shortly after that?

No, mammals existed alongside dinosaur and evolved around 300 million years ago. The branch of evolution containing homo sapiens evolved from a rodent like mammal about 80 million years ago.

Going back even further, recent research indicates that around 500 million years ago mammals, including humans could have evolved from a worm.