[shunyadragon]

</span><blockquote><span class="smallfont">Quote:</span><hr size="1" />Originally Posted by (jpapadpapa,)
</span><blockquote><span class="smallfont">Quote:</span><hr size="1" />Originally Posted by
"Conclusions
Archaeopteryx is a bird because it had feathers. However, it retained many dinosaurian characters which are not found in modern birds, whilst having certain characters found in birds but not in dinosaurs. By virtue of this fact Archaeopteryx represents an example of a group in transition - a representative which, although on the sidelines in the dinosaur to bird transition, an echo of the actual event, still allows a brief glimpse into the possible mechanism which brought about the evolution of the birds and by its very existence shows that such a transition is possible."<hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'>
This is very bad logic. He is saying that because Archaeopteryx has dinosaurian characteristics, that proves that it is a species in evoltuionary transition. How does this prove anything? Could an animal not simply have characteristics of another animal? Is it not possible that the Creator decided to have some creative fun and make a bird with some dinosaur characteristics? That is like saying because I have eyes and so does my son's teddy bear, that is proof that I have evolved (or am evolving) from a teddy bear. I will read through the rest of the link as time permits, but I am not impressed by this conclusion.<hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'>

Yes Archeopteryx is considered one possible species showing that birds and dinosaurs are closely related. You would be correct if Archeopteryx was the only example of the different species in transition, but that is no longer the case. In China not far from where I live they have found more. We now have more than a half a dozen different feathered species with characteristics of both birds and dinosaurs and the number is growing. Others have been found in other parts of the world. There is evidence that the presence of feather may have been common among dinosaurs.

No, I don't believe God treats his creation as creative fun. The number of intermediates among all the species the scientists are finding is growing and the relationship is beginning to be sorted out in an orderly time scalle hundreds of millions of years old.