Sunday, April 09, 2006

New fossils

Tiktaalik is an amazing find, no doubt. But I take issue with the media dubbing it a "missing link." That term is a complete misnomer. Anyone who has studied evolution knows that there isn't going to be one sole fossil that describes the entire process of evolution or bridge the gap between Classes or Orders. The scientific community understands this, but the MSM wants headlines and controversy. Now maybe with genetic screening there will be the possibility to draw some very strong conclusions about lineage, but nothing that could match the hype of the MSM.
Tiktaalik roseae.

Another important fossil was also found recently. Not as romantic as Tiktaalik, but Hagryphus is an important find. Not only because it's a new giant species of oviraptor, but because of the region it was found in; the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. If predictions are correct, hopefully this area provides more interesting finds in the near future. I'm curious if either of these fossils can provide DNA samples as well.

And I really think a different conceptual artist sould have been used on the Hagryphus. That pic is really out of this world:
Hagryphus giganteus.

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