3a – The Glory of the Original Earth

[1] Note its use in Titus 3:5, “he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration [Gk. paliggenesia] and renewal [Gk. anakainosis] of the Holy Spirit.” It is used as a synonym of anakainosis (also used twice in the NT, cf. Rom. 12:2 and the “renewal of your mind”), meaning “a renewal, renovation, complete change for the better.” Again, the “Genesis anew” (paliggenesia) is essentially a “renovation” (anakainosis).

[2] “The Bible is not only consistent from beginning to end, it has a perfect symmetry. The last 3 chapters of Revelation mirror the first 3 of Genesis. At the beginning of Genesis we find the creation, the planting of the Garden of Eden, the marriage of Adam and Eve, and the victory of the serpent. At the end of Revelation, we find the new creation, the restoration of the Garden of Eden, the marriage of Yeshua and His bride, and the defeat of the serpent. In Genesis 3 man sins. In Revelation 20 (3rd from the end), sin comes to its final judgment. [Revelation 20 explains that the serpent of Genesis 3 was actually Satan.] No engineer, architect or contractor in his right mind would ever lay the first brick or dig the first shovel until every last screw, wire and detail of the building were already planned out in the written blueprint. Before God ever said, ‘Let there be light’, He already had planned the ending of the book of Revelation. The rabbis say that the Torah and the Messiah existed before the creation in Genesis. God planned His kingdom ‘before the foundation of the earth (Matthew 25:34, Ephesians 1:4, I Peter 1:20, Revelation 13:8).’ Another rabbinic saying goes: ‘the last to be done is the first to be planned.’ Everything in Genesis was done with the final perfection of Revelation already in mind. Before God wrote the first pages of His book, He had a happy ending planned for the last few chapters.” [Asher Intrater, “Old Testament in the Book of Revelation,” Revive Israel Update (5 July 2009); archived at http://www.revive-israel.org/2009/07-05-old-testament-book-revelation-part-2.html.]

[1] Joel Achenbach, “Why were dinosaurs so humongous?” National Geographic Online (July 2005); web article at http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0507/resources_who.html#weblinks.

[2] Nicholas H. Hotton III (Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology for the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institute), “An alternative to dinosaur endothermy: The happy wanderers,” in D.K. Thomas and E.C. Olson, eds., A Cold Look at the Warm Blooded Dinosaurs (Washington, D.C.: American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1980), 311-350.

[3] That is, Argentinosaurus [see J.F. Bonaparte, and R.A. Coria, “Un neuvo y gigantesco Saurópodo Titanosaurio de la Formación Río Limay (Albiano-Cenomaniano) de la Provincia del Neuquén, Argentina,” Ameghiniana 30:271-282 (1993)].

[4] William C. Erickson, “Dinosaur Giantism,” in On the Origin of Dinosaurs and Mammals (online publication), 19; available at http://microlnx.com/dinosaurs/OriginOfDinosaursAndMammals.pdf.

[5] Robert Bakker (prominent paleontologist and initiator of the “Dinosaur Renaissance”) believes Hotton overstated the size difference, maintaining that the modern fauna, dominated by very small mammals and devoid of very large ones, is atypical in the history of mammals. Yet even when all of the mammals smaller than the smallest dinosaur (4kg) are excluded from Hotton’s data set, the size gap between the mammals and dinosaurs is only marginally reduced: the average generic mass of mammals is raised to 36kg (~large dog) and median mass is raised to 25kg (~smaller dog). Both values are still orders of magnitude less than dinosaurs. [See R.T. Bakker, “Dinosaur heresy—dinosaur renaissance: Why we need endothermic archosaurs for a comprehensive theory of bioenergetic evolution,” in D.K. Thomas and E.C. Olson, eds., A Cold Look at the Warm Blooded Dinosaurs (Washington, D.C.: American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1980), 351-462.]

[6] Information generally derived from respective articles on Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia, available from http://en.wikipedia.org. Sizes are an average of opinion. For example, Brachiosaurus (a step larger than the Apatosaurus) is estimated, by equally top experts in paleontology (Edwin H. Colbert vs. R. McNeill Alexander), to range from more than 80 tons to less than 50 tons, respectively—a difference of over 60,000lbs! [See E.H. Colbert, “The weights of dinosaurs,” American Museum Novitiates 2076:1-16 (1962); and R.M. Alexander, Dynamics of Dinosaurs and Other Extinct Giants (New York: Columbia University Press, 1989).]

[7] Meaning “huge bodied lizard,” Bruhathkayosaurus was found near the southern tip of India, to the northeast of Kallamedu village in the late 1980s. However, the find was poorly collected and analyzed [see P. Yadagiri and K. Ayyasami, “A carnosaurian dinosaur from the Kallamedu Formation (Maastrichtian horizon),” Symposium on Three Decades of Development in Palaeontolgy and Stratigraphy in India: Geological Survey of India Special Publications 11(1):523-528 (1989).] Thus, until the remains are properly described, the validity of any estimates should be held in question.

[8] When the first sauropod, Cetiosaurus (“whale-lizard”), was discovered in the 1840s, Richard Owen believed it to be much too large to live on land and therefore decided that it must have been a marine lizard. However, the discovery of weight-bearing limbs proved that Cetiosaurus was in fact a land dweller, a notion that Owen found difficult to accept. Accordingly, he decided that Cetiosaurus must have spent its life in lagoons and swamps, where its enormous mass could be supported buoyantly in water. Thus was born the amphibian theory of sauropods, which many leading paleontologists have since subscribed to. However the long erect limbs and deep rib cage of sauropods are similar to those of elephants and other large terrestrial mammals, and quite unlike the short, stubby limbs and barrel-shaped torso of hippos, which spend most of their lives in water. Moreover, studies in sauropod bone density and strength lend support to the idea that they were primarily land-dwellers [see R.M. Alexander, “Mechanics of posture and gait of some large dinosaurs,” Zoological Journal of the Linnaean Society 83:1-25 (1985)].

[9] Body size today is restricted by land mass size because each individual of a species requires a certain fraction of the land area as food resource. If body size gets too large, population density of the species drops below the critical value for survival of the species. Sauropod and theropod dinosaurs have been repeatedly shown to be at least an order of magnitude too large for the respective landmass they were inhabiting [see G.P. Burness, J. Diamond, and T. Flannery, “Dinosaurs, dragons, and dwarfs: The evolution of maximal body size,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 98:14518-14523 (2001); and P. Colinvaux, Why Big Fierce Animals Are Rare: An Ecologist’s Perspective (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1978)]. However, evolutionists simply state that “somehow they were able to circumvent these ecological limits.” [Martin Sander (Institute for Paleontology, University of Bonn), “Biology of the Sauropod Dinosaurs: The Evolution of Gigantism,” DFG Research Unit 533, web article at http://www.sauropod-dinosaurs.uni-bonn.de/sauropodlong.htm]

[10] “The sauropods began their long evolutionary history as giants; one might say that geologically speaking they became instantaneous giants, because the first of these great dinosaurs is found in rocks of very early Jurassic age.” [Edwin H. Colbert (Professor Emeritus of Vertebrate Paleontology at Columbia University), Dinosaurs: An Illustrated History (Hammond, 1983)] Barapasaurus, at 80ft in length, was supposedly one of the first true sauropods, from the Early Jurassic. The appearance of Barapasaurus so early in the age of dinosaurs belies the notion that the evolution of dinosaur gigantism was a protracted and incremental process, à la Cope’s Rule (which simply states that population lineages tend to increase body size incrementally over geological time) [see Jeff Hecht, “Giant dinosaurs arrived with a bang,” NewScientist.com, 16 May 2002, web article at http://www.newscientist.com/channel/life/dinosaurs/dn2290]. However, Cope’s Rule has been strongly criticized as a theory without a mechanism, simply stating the trend instead of explaining it. Thus, the sudden appearance of sauropod gigantism in the fossil record poses a significant problem for evolutionary theory.

[11] Erickson, “Dinosaur Giantism,” 20.

[12] Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia, “Giant Animals,” available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_animals.

[13] It used to be commonly assumed that grass didn’t evolve until long after dinosaurs died out, supposedly 65 Ma. However, recent microscopic examination of fossilized titanosaurus dung from India now shows that the last massive plant-eating dinosaurs ate at least five different types of grass. [See D.R. Piperno and H.D. Sues, “Dinosaurs Dined on Grass,” Science 310:1126-1128 (18 November 2005); abstract at http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/310/5751/1126.]

[1] “A new subfamily of the Formicidae (Insecta: Hymenoptera) from the Middle Eocene oil shell of the ‘Grube Messel’ near Darmstadt (W. Germany, S. Hesse),” Senckenbergiana lethaea 67:177-218 (1986).

[2] Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia, “Apthoroblattina,” available from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apthoroblattina; see also a recent find of a whole cockroach in the NE Ohio 7-11 Coal Mine (though falsely labeled the “largest fossil cockroach”), Pam Frost Gorder, “Largest Fossil Cockroach Found; Site Preserves Incredible Detail,” Ohio State Research News, 7 November 2001; archived at http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/bigroach.htm.

[3] To see one of the largest ones ever found, see Sue Vorenberg, “Spectacular specimen: this bug’s a big one–8 feet long–and New Mexico scientists nabbed some of its fossils,” Albuquerque Tribune, 14 April 2005; available at http://s8int.com/mega6.html; see also Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia, “Arthropleura,” available from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthropleura.

[4] W.A. Shear and J. Kukalova-Peck, “The ecology of Paleozoic terrestrial arthropods: the fossil evidence,” Canadian Journal of Zoology 68:1807-1834 (1990); D.E.G. Briggs, “Gigantism in Palaeozoic arthropods,” Special Papers in Palaeontology 33:157 (1985).

[5] See Express Times, 2 March 2001, p. A-2; The Cairns Post, 3 March 2001, p. 24; Sunday Herald Sun, 11 March 2001; etc. See also David Catchpoole, “Giant oysters on the mountain,” Creation Ex Nihilo 24(2):54-55 (March2002); archived at http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v24/i2/oysters.asp.

[6] Vildozola named them Plagiostoma giganteum and placed the age of the fossils at “200 million years.” However, bi-valve mollusks open when they die, so the fact that the oysters were found closed suggests that they did not die a natural death, but rather were buried rapidly—a condition better explained by a global flood.

[1] Also known as Smilodonichthys rastrosus, see T.M. Cavender and R.R. Miller, “Smilodonichthys rastrosus, a new pleistocene salmonid fish from the western United States,” University of Oregon Museum of Natural History Bulletin 18:1-144 (1972).

[2] This is based on the formation of the teeth found in the jawbone. Piranhas have a single row of triangular teeth, while Pacu have two rows of square teeth. The new fossil shows an intermediate pattern of teeth in a zig-zag row. The Megapiranha fossil was originally collected in a riverside cliff in northeastern Argentina in the early 1900s, but remained unstudied until paleontologist Alberto Cione of Argentina’s La Plata Museum rediscovered the specimen in a museum drawer. [See Alberto Luis Cione, et al., “Megapiranha paranensis, a new genus and species of Serrasalmidae (Characiformes, Teleostei) from the Upper Miocene of Argentina,” Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 29(2):350-358 (June 2009).]

[3] The name Leedsichthys means “Leeds’s fish,” after fossil collector Alfred Leeds, who discovered it in 1889 near Peterborough, England. The fossils found by Leeds and other Leedsichthys fossils found in Germany gave the fish the species descriptor “Problematicus,” because it would have been so enormous that it was difficult to imagine it existed.

[4] First found in July 2001, full-scale excavation began in June 2002 by dig leader Jeff Liston; details available at his website, http://www.big-dead-fish.com. The specimen gained recognition when it was documented by National Geographic in 2003 (James Owen, “‘Biggest Fish Ever Found’ Unearthed in U.K.” National Geographic News, 1 October 2003; web article at http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/10/1001_031001_biggestfish.html).

[5] Such estimates are gleaned mainly from teeth and a few skeletal components; see M.D. Gottfried, et al., “Size and skeletal anatomy of the giant ‘Megatooth’ shark Carcharodon megalodon,” in A.P. Klimley and D.G. Ainley eds., Great White Sharks: The Biology of Carcharodon carcharias (San Diego: Academic Press, 1996) 55-66.

[6] See Patricia Vickers-Rich and Thomas Hewett Rich, Wildlife of Gondwana: Dinosaurs and Other Vertebrates from the Ancient Supercontinent (Indiana University Press, 1993).

[7] D.M.S. Watson, “A new labyrinthodont (Paracyclotosaurus) from the upper Trias of New South Wales,” Bulletin of the British Museum 3(7):233-262 (1958).

[8] Susan E. Evans, Marc E.H. Jones, and David W. Krause, “A giant frog with South American affinities from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 105(8):2951-2956 (February 19, 2008); abstract at http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/105/8/2951.

[9] However, Krause teamed with fossil frog experts from University College London (i.e. Evans et al.) and determined that Beelzebufo isn’t related to African frogs, but rather it seems to be a relative of normal-sized South American horned frogs (i.e. ceratophryine family), sometimes called pacman frogs because of their huge mouths. Thus, Beelzebufo is more than twice the size of its nearest living relative.

[10] “The family link raises a paleontology puzzle: Standard theory for how the continents drifted apart show what is now Madagascar would have been long separated by ocean from South America during Beelzebufo’s time. And frogs can’t survive long in salt water, Krause noted.” (Lauran Neergaard, “Scientists find ‘Devil Toad’ fossil: Discovery of bowling ball-sized frog raises ancient geography questions,” Associated Press (February 18 2008); archived at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23225938.

[11] Jason J. Head, et al., “Giant boid snake from the paleocene neotropics reveals hotter past equatorial temperatures,” Nature 457:715-718 (5 February 2009).

[12] Sarcosuchus was first discovered by French paleontologist Albert-Félix de Lapparent, in the 1940s and 1950s in Gadoufaoua, Niger in the Ténéré Desert (part of the Sahara). However, it wasn’t until Paul C. Sereno’s trips in 1997 and 2000 that enough fossils were recovered to build an adequate reconstruction [see P. Sereno, et al. “The Giant Crocodyliform Sarcosuchus from the Cretaceous of Africa” Science 294:1516-1519 (16 November 2001); see also D.L. Parsell, “‘SuperCroc’ Fossil Found in Sahara,” National Geographic News, 25 October 2001, archived at http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/10/1025_supercroc.html.]

[13] Ralph E. Molnar, Dragons in the Dust: The Paleobiology of the Giant Monitor Lizard Megalania (Indiana University Press, 2004); see also R. Owen, “Description of Some Remains of a Gigantic Land-Lizard (Megalania prisca, Owen) from Australia,” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London 149:43-48 (1859).

[14] The Leatherback Sea Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) is the biggest of all living turtles, reaching a length of over 9ft and weight of 2000lb, and is the world’s 4^th largest reptile, behind the larger crocodiles.

[15] This particular specimen was discovered by a private collector who later sold it to Siber and Siber of Switzerland, who in turn sold it to the Naturhistorisches Museum Wien in Vienna, Austria, where it has been on exhibit since 1982. Thus, it is referred to as the “Vienna specimen.” The first Archelon fossil was found by G.R. Wieland in 1895 at the south fork of the Cheyenne River, 35 miles east of Black Hills, South Dakota. The famous Archelon specimen measured almost 11 feet from snout to tail, and when fully stretched out, it measured 15 feet from the flipper to flipper. It has been on display in Yale University’s Peabody Museum of Natural History in New Haven, Connecticut since 1907.

[1] O. Arrendondo, “The great predatory birds of the Pleistocene of Cuba,” Smithsonian Contr. Paleobiol 27:169-187 (1976); see also Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia, “Ornimegalonyx,” available from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ornimegalonyx.

[2] Storrs L. Olson, “The fossil record of birds,” in D.S. Farner, J.R. King, and K.C. Parkes, eds., Avian Biology 8:79-238 (New York: Academic Press, 1985).

[3] Fossils have been found on Seymour Island off the coast of Antarctica and New Zealand [see A. Myrcha, P. Jadwiszczak, C.P. Tambussi, J.I. Noriega, A. Gazdzicki, A. Tatur, and R.A. Valle, “Taxonomic revision of Eocene Antarctic penguins based on tarsometatarsal morphology,” Polish Polar Research 23(1):5-46 (2002).].

[4] D.H. Brathwaite, “Notes on the weight, flying ability, habitat, and prey of Haast’s Eagle (Harpagornis moorei),” Notornis 39(4): 239-247 (1992); archived at http://www.notornis.org.nz/free_issues/Notornis_39-1992/Notornis_39_4_239.pdf; see also H.R.L. Lerner, and D.P. Mindell, “Phylogeny of eagles, Old World vultures, and other Accipitridae based on nuclear and mitochondrial DNA,” Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 37:327-346 (2005).

[5] T.H. Worthy and R.N. Holdaway, The Lost World of the Moa: Prehistoric Life of New Zealand (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2002).

[6] K.E. Campbell and E.P. Tonni, “A new genus of teratorn from the Huayquerian of Argentina (Aves: Teratornithidae),” Contributions in Science, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County 330:59-68 (1980); K.E. Campbell and E.P. Tonni, “Size and locomotion in teratorns,” Auk 100(2):390-403 (1983); archived at http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Auk/v100n02/p0390-p0403.pdf.

[7] Compare with today’s largest living bird’s wingspan, the Wandering Albatross (~11.5ft), the heaviest extant flying birds, the European Great Bustard and African Kori Bustard (~45lb), and the tallest flying bird, the Sarus Crane (~6ft), due to its long legs.

[8] Stephen Wroe, “The bird from hell?” Nature Australia 26(7):56-63; archived at http://www.amonline.net.au/mammals/fossil/bird_from_hell.htm; see also P. Rich, “The Dromornithidae, an extinct family of large ground birds endemic to Australia,” Bureau of National Resources, Geology and Geophysics Bulletin 184:1-196 (1979).

[9] For a recent find of Diatryma and its similarities to Gastornis, see Sandi Doughton, “Big birds on the Green River? The debate continues,” The Seattle Times, 6 December 2004; archived at http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002110396_bigbird06m.html.

[10] E. Hébert, “Note sur le tibia du Gastornis parisiensis,” Comptes Rendus Hebdomadaires des Séances de l’Académie des Sciences (Paris) 40:579-582 (1855); and S.L. Olson, “The fossil record of birds,” 79-239 in D. Farner, J. King, and K. Parkes, eds., Avian Biology, Vol. VIII (New York: Academic Press, 1985).

[11] A.W.A. Kellner and W. Langston, Jr., “Cranial remains of Quetzalcoatlus (Pterosauria, Azhdarchidae) from Late Cretaceous sediments of Big Bend National Park, Texas,” Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 16:222-231.

[12] Compare to today’s largest creatures that can support and propel themselves through the air, the South American Condors with 12ft wingspans and 25lb weight. Aeronautic properties of Quetzalcoatlus have raised significant questions concerning the earth’s atmosphere during the time that it lived [see O. Levenspiel, “Earth’s early atmosphere,” Chemical Innovation 30(5):47-51 (May 2000); O. Levenspiel, T.J. Fitzgerald, and D. Pettit, “Earth’s atmosphere before the age of dinosaurs,” 30(12):50-55 (Dec 2000)].

[1] One reason that giant prehistoric mammals aren’t currently well known is because they aren’t discussed very much by the scientific community. Evolutionary theory does not do a very good job of explaining why such large animals were the ancestors of the smaller animals living today.

[2] “It’s unbelievable. These were absolutely humongous rodents. The largest ones may have been the size of a large brown bear. Its size breaks all kinds of ecological rules… there is no precedent for island rodents becoming nearly as big as they did in Anguilla and Saint Martin.” (Ross MacPhee, curator of mammals at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, quoted by Patrick Huyghe, “A Brobdingnagian rodent–giant rodent Amblyrhiza inundata,” Omni,1 March 1994)

[3] A.R. Biknevicius, D.A. McFarlane, R.D.E. MacPhee, “Body size in Amblyrhiza inundata (Rodentia: Caviomorpha), an extinct megafaunal rodent from the Anguilla Bank, West Indies: estimates and implications,” American Museum novitates 3079:1-26 (November 12, 1993); see also Bob Green, “Amblyrhiza Inundata: Giant Fossil Rat,” Anguilla Local News, February 1996; web article at http://news.ai/news9602.html#amblyrhiza.

[4] M.R. Sánchez-Villagra, O. Aguilera, I. Horovitz, “The anatomy of the world’s largest extinct rodent,” Science

301:1708-1710 (19 September 2003); see also Shaoni Bhattacharya, “Buffalo-sized guinea pig revealed,” New Scientist, 18 September 2003; web article at http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn4183.

[5] Andres Rinderknecht and R. Ernesto Blanco, “The largest fossil rodent,” Proceedings of the Royal Society B 275(1637):923-928 (15 January 2008); see also Virginie Millien, “The largest among the smallest: the body mass of the giant rodent Josephoartigasia monesi,” Proceedings of the Royal Society B 275(1646):1953-1955 (07 September 2008).

[6] The largest armadillo was Doedicurus clavicaudatus whose tail was surrounded by a flexible sheath of bone with long spikes or knobs on the end [see A.R. Mcneill, R.A. Farina, S.F. Vizcaino, “Tail blow energy and carapace fractures in a large glyptodont (Mammalia, Xenarthra),” Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 126(1):41-49 (May 1999)]. A smaller Glyptodon was found in southern Peru in 2005 which was originally referenced to the car [see Reuters, “Ice Age armadillos the size of cars, fossil shows,” archived at http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200505/s1372989.htm].

[7] A.R. Cahn, “Records and distribution of the fossil beaver, Castoroides ohioensis,” Journal of Mammalogy 13(3):229-241 (1936); B. Kurtén and E. Anderson, Pleistocene mammals of North America (New York: Columbia University Press, 1980).

[8] Gray Wolves, by contrast, range between 80-130lb, so a large modern wolf would be about the same size as a small Dire Wolf [see R.M. Nowak, “North American Quaternary Canis,” Monograph of the Museum of Natural History, University of Kansas 6:1-154 (1979); and B. Kurtén and E. Anderson, Pleistocene mammals of North America].

[9] Alan Turner and Mauricio Antón, The Big Cats and Their Fossil Relatives (New York: Columbia University Press, 1997); L. Radinsky and S. Emerson, “The late, great sabertooths,” Natural History, Vol. 91, No. 4 (1982).

[10] D.C. Parris and M. Green, “Dinohyus (mammalia: entelodontidae) in the Sharps Formation, South Dakota,” Journal of Paleontology 43(5): 1277-1279 (September 1969).

[11] C. Guintard, “On the size of the ure-ox or aurochs (Bos primigenius Bojanus, 1827),” in G.C. Weniger, Archäologie und Biologie des Auerochsen (Mettmann: Neanderthal Museum, 1999), 7-21.

[12] T. van Vuure, “History, morphology and ecology of the Aurochs (Bos primigenius),” Lutra 45-1 (2002); archived at http://members.chello.nl/~t.vanvuure/oeros/uk/lutra.pdf.

[13] A.M. Lister, et al., “The phylogenetic position of the ‘giant deer’ Megaloceros giganteus,” Nature 438:850-853 (8 December 2005); see also Stephen J. Gould, “Origin and function of bizarre structures—antler size and skull size in Irish Elk, Megaloceros-giganteus,” Evolution 28:191-220 (1974).

[14] For a recent discovery of a “post-Ice Age” specimen, see James Owen, “Extinct Giant Deer Survived Ice Age, Study Says,” National Geographic News, 6 October 2004; web article at http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/10/1006_041006_giant_deer.html.

[15] Also known as Gigantocamelus, see John Breyer, “Titanotylopus (= Gigantocamelus) from the Great Plains Cenozoic,” Journal of Paleontology 50(5):783-788 (September 1976); see also J.A. Harrison, “Giant camels from the Cenozoic of North America,” Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology, Number 57 (14 June 1985).

[16] Between 2005 and 2006, more than 40 bone fragments of giant camels were found by the team. Astonished by the size of the animal, the leader of the team, Professor Jean-Marie Le Tensorer remarked, “Can you imagine? The camel’s shoulders stood three metres high and it was around four metres tall, as big as a giraffe or an elephant. Nobody knew that such a species had existed.” The scientists also found supposedly 100,000-year-old human remains nearby (“Giant camel fossil found in Syria” BBC News, 10 October 2006; web article at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6035113.stm).

[17] B. Kurten and E. Anderson, Pleistocene Mammals of North America; see also R.A. Fariña and R.E. Blanco, “Megatherium, the stabber,” Proceedingsof the Royal Society of London 263:1725-1729 (1996).

For a recent find by a University of Florida team, led by David Webb, of a giant sloth (Eremotherium eomigrans) standing over 17ft tall and weighing over 11,000lb, see G. De Iuliis and C. Cartelle, “A new giant megatheriine ground sloth (Mammalia: Xenarthra: Megatheriidae) from the late Blancan to early Irvingtonian of Florida,” Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 127:495-515 (1999); see also UF news release by Cathy Keen, “UF Researchers Find Oldest Bones Of New Giant Ground Sloth Species,” University of Florida News, 20 June 2000; web article at http://news.ufl.edu/2000/06/20/sloth/.

[18] K.M. Helgen, R.T. Wells, B.P. Kear, W.R. Gerdtz, and T.F. Flannery, “Ecological and evolutionary significance of sizes of giant extinct kangaroos,” Australian Journal of Zoology 54(4):293-303 (2006).

[19] Bjorn Kurtén, “Pleistocene bears of North America. 2. Genus Arctodus, short-faced bears,” Acta Zoologica Fennica 117:1-60 (1967); see also B. Kurtén and E. Anderson, Pleistocene mammals of North America (New York: Columbia Univ. Press, 1980).

[20] S.G. Lucas and J.C. Sobus, “The systematics of indricotheres,” 358-378 in D.R. Prothero and R.M. Schoch, eds., The Evolution of Perissodactyls (New York: Oxford University Press, 1989).

[21] M.Z. Zhou, “Pleistocene mammalian fossils from the northeastern provinces,” in Proboscidea (Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1959), 22-34.

An 11ft long mammoth tusk was also discovered north of Lincoln, Illinois in 2005, now on display at the Illinois State Museum [see Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), “Recently discovered 11-foot long woolly mammoth tusk on display at the Illinois State Museum,” Illinois Department of Natural Resources Press Release (August 14, 2006); available at http://dnr.state.il.us/pubaffairs/2006/August/woolly.htm.].

[22] See J.M. Harris, “Family Deinotheriidae,” in J.M. Harris (ed.), Koobi Fora Research Project, Vol. 2, (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1983), 22-39; see also W.J. Sanders, “Proboscideans from the Sinap Formation, Central Turkey,” in J. Kappelman, et al. (eds.), Geology and Paleontology of the Miocene Sinap Formation, Central Turkey (New York: Columbia University Press, 2003), 202-219.

[23] G.H.R. Von Koenigswald, “Gigantopithecus blacki, a giant fossil hominoid from the pleistocene of southern China,” Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History 43:295-325 (1952); see also R.L. Ciochon, D.R. Piperno, and R.G. Thompson, “Opal phytoliths found on the teeth of the extinct ape Gigantopithecus blacki: Implications for paleodietary studies,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Science 87:8120-8124 (1990). For a recent discovery of the co-existence of humans and gigantopithecines, see Jane Christmas, “Giant Ape Lived Along-side Humans,” McMaster University News, 7 November 2005; web article at http://dailynews.mcmaster.ca/story.cfm?id=3637.

[1] Henry M. Morris (ed.), Scientific Creationism, 2nd ed. (Green Forest: Master Books, 1985), 211. For an alternative explanation of human longevity before the Flood based simply on genetic superiority, see Carl Wieland, “Living for 900 years,” Creation Ex Nihilo 20(4):10-13 (September1998); archived at http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/805/.

[2] Two satellites, MAHRSI (Middle Atmosphere High Resolution Spectrograph Investigation) and HALOE (Halogen Occultation Experiment), sent back the startling data—“Earth’s upper atmosphere, a region drier than the Sahara Desert, harbors unexpected amounts of water vapor, according to data from a pair of satellites. The discovery could bolster a controversial theory that thousands of house-size comets are hitting the atmosphere each day.” [Richard Monastersky, “Reservoir of water hides high above Earth,” Science News 152(8):117 (23 August 1997)] However, the theory of a constant influx of mini-comets has been strongly criticized as unworkable (see Robert Matthews, “Not a snowball’s chance…” New Scientist 12 July 1997, pp. 26-27).

[3] “At the peak of the dinosaur era, there were no polar ice caps, and sea levels are estimated to have been from 100 to 250 metres (330 to 820 feet) higher than they are today. The planet’s temperature was also much more uniform, with only 25 degrees Celsius separating average polar temperatures from those at the equator. On average, atmospheric temperatures were also much warmer; the poles, for example, were 50 °C warmer than today.” (Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia, “Dinosaur,” available from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinosaur)

[4] Creationists would line up the “pre-Miocene warmness” with the environment after creation and up to the Flood. Since the Miocene, worldwide temperatures have remained diversified. The warm, moist climate recorded in the pre-Miocene deposits can be challenging for scientists to explain. For example: “According to computer models of climate, North Dakota and other continental interiors also had relatively harsh winters in the geologic past, even during periods like the early Eocene, about 50 million years ago, when global temperatures were the highest in the past 65 million years. But while the computers insist on harsh winters, Eocene fossils from continental interiors tell a different story: winters mild enough for crocodiles to roam through Wyoming and tree ferns to shade Montana.” [Richard A. Kerr, “Fossils tell of mild winters in an ancient hothouse,” Science 261:682 (1993)]

“The 65-million-year-old bones of at least three dinosaur species and two prehistoric reptiles have been recovered from a site in the Alaskan tundra by a team of researchers from the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Alaska at Fairbanks. Although the magnetic orientation of rock in the area indicates that the site, near Prudhoe Bay, was at least as far north when the dinosaurs lived as it is today (70°N latitude), fossils and other geologic evidence suggest that the site was a coastal swamp with a subtropical to temperate climate. ‘Temperature rarely, if ever, dropped below freezing,’ says William Clemens, the Berkeley paleontologist who led the expedition. ‘Such a mild climate was possible in spite of annual periods of darkness because the earth’s climate was much more “equable”—or uniform—in those days,’ explains Fairbanks paleontologist Carol Allison.” (Jennie Dusheck, “Arctic dinosaurs raise questions,” Science News, 31 August 1985, archived at http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Arctic+dinosaurs+raise+questions-a03911436.)

[5] There are four primary theories for dinosaur extinction (in order of adherents): 1) Asteroid impact, 2) Climate change, 3) Volcanic activity, and 4) Disease. There are an abundance of others, including combinations of theories (e.g. Susan Couch, “101 Crazy Theories About Dinosaur Extinction,” web article at http://palaeo.gly.bris.ac.uk/Communication/Couch/101Theories.html).

[6] B.T. Huber, “Tropical paradise at the Cretaceous poles?” Science 282:2199-2200 (1998); see also Michael J. Oard, “Polar dinosaurs and the Genesis Flood,” Creation Research Society Quarterly 32(1):47-56 (1995).

[7] P.J. Barrett, R.J. Baillie, and E.H. Colbert, “Triassic Amphibian from Antarctica,” Science 161:460-462 (2 August 1968).

[8] W.R. Hammer, W.J. Hickerson, and R.W. Slaughter, “A dinosaur assemblage from the Transantarctic Mountains,” Antarctic Journal of the U.S. 29(5):31-32 (1994); see also E.H. Colbert, “Triassic vertebrates in the Transantarctic Mountains,” in M.D. Turner and J.F. Splettstoesser (eds.), Geology of the central Transantarctic Mountains, Antarctic Research Series, Vol. 36 (Washington, D.C.: American Geophysical Union, 1982). Dr. Duane Gish asks the pertinent question, “How could animals like dinosaurs, flying reptiles, and turtles survive alongside ferns and conifers in areas with very low temperature and months of darkness?” [Evolution: The Fossils Stills Say No! (El Cajon: Institute for Creation Research, 1995), 127]

[9] “The discovery of thousands of well-preserved leaves in Antarctica has sparked a debate among geologists over whether the polar region, rather than being blanketed by a massive sheet of ice for millions of years enjoyed a near-temperate climate as recently as three million years ago.” (Chris Raymond, “Discovery of leaves in Antarctica sparks debate over whether region had near-temperate climate,” Chronicle of Higher Education, March 1991, p. A9); see also Larry O’Hanlon, “Antarctic Forests Reveal Ancient Trees, Discovery News, 5 November 2004; web article at http://dsc.discovery.com/news/briefs/20041101/leaves.html.

[10] J.A. Tarduno, et al., “Evidence for extreme climatic warmth from late Cretaceous Arctic vertebrates,” Science 282:2241-2244 (1998); see also Michael J. Oard, “A tropical reptile in the ‘Cretaceous’ arctic,” Creation Ex Nihilo Technical Journal 14(2):9 (August 2000); archived at http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/1658/#r5.

[11] What is so difficult for evolutionary scientists is that the 7.5ft long champsosaur is cold-blooded (an ectotherm). Furthermore, it cannot migrate or hibernate during winter, as is thought possible for some polar dinosaurs and turtles. Uniformitarians therefore consider the champsosaur an ideal climatic indicator. The presence of this animal would require a temperature range of 25ºC to 35ºC, and thus the climate must have been tropical to subtropical. However, the area’s present annual mean temperature is –20ºC, with the lowest daily temperature during the coldest month around –45°C. Since geologists believe the paleolatitude of Axel Heiberg Island was only a little less than that of today, slow continental drift is of no help in understanding the contradiction. Thus, scientists have turned to alternative climate models which have also proved difficult—“The presence of reptiles at Arctic latitudes offers challenges for efforts to model Cretaceous climates. The high polar temperatures implied here exacerbate the problems of simulating warm polar conditions without also raising equatorial temperatures to unreasonably high values.” (Tarduno, et al., 2243)

[12] See Thomas G. Barnes, Origin and Destiny of the Earth’s Magnetic Field, 2^nd ed. (El Cajon: Institute for Creation Research, 1983); and D. Russell Humphreys, “The earth’s magnetic field is still losing energy,” Creation Research Society Quarterly 39(1):3-13 (June 2002); archived at http://www.creationresearch.org/crsq/articles/39/39_1/GeoMag.htm.

[13] Scientists at the University of Rochester used a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID), which is normally employed in computer chip design and is extremely sensitive to the tiniest magnetic fields. Previously, “paleointensity” (i.e. study of the Earth’s ancient magnetic field) was measured by heating a piece of igneous rock and cooling it in a chamber that is shielded from any outside magnetic field. In this way, the magnetism in the rock’s particles can be “drained.” Scientists then increase the magnetic field and measure how much magnetism the particles in the rock can hold. However, because of contamination, scientists have not regarded this technique as being particularly accurate until the development and use of the SQUID.

[14] J.A. Tarduno, R.D. Cottrell, and A.V. Smirnov, “High geomagnetic intensity during the mid-Cretaceous from thellier analyses of single plagioclase crystals,” Science: 291:1779-1783 (2 March 2001). For a summary of the research, see David Whitehouse, “Rocks reveal amazing dino lights,” BBC News Online, 2 March 2001; web article at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/1196652.stm.

[15] For an explanation of the QMS, see the USGS website at http://minerals.cr.usgs.gov/gips/4process.htm#SCROLL4.

[16] Robert A. Berner and Gary P. Landis, “Chemical analysis of gaseous bubble inclusions in amber: The composition of ancient air,” American Journal of Science 287:757-762 (1987); R.A. Berner and G.P. Landis, “Gas bubbles in fossil amber as possible indicators of the major gas composition of ancient air,” Science 239:1406-1409 (18 March 1988); see also Gary Landis “Air bubbles, amber, and dinosaurs,” at http://minerals.cr.usgs.gov/gips/na/0amber.htm, in Understanding Our Planet Through Chemistry, web book at http://minerals.cr.usgs.gov/gips/na/aii-indx.htm.

[17] Critics argue that amber is permeable to gases and therefore cannot contain air for millions of years [see H.B. Hopfenberg et al., “Is the air in amber ancient?” Science 241:717-718 (5 August 1988); Richard Monastersky, “Oxygen-extinction theory draws counterfire: claim that dinosaurs died due to drop in atmosphere’s oxygen concentration criticized,” Science News, 6 November 1993].

[18] É Harlé and A. Harlé, “Le vol de grands reptiles et insects disparus semble indiquer une pression atmosphérique levée,” Bull. Soc. Geol. Fr. 4 Ser. 11:118-121 (1911).

[19] See J.B. Graham, N.M. Aguilar, R. Dudley, C. Gans, “Implications of the late Palaeozoic oxygen pulse for physiology and evolution,” Nature 375:117-120 (11 May 1995); Robert Dudley, “Atmospheric oxygen, giant paleozoic insects and the evolution of aerial locomotor performance,” Journal of Experimental Biology 201:1043-1050 (1998); archived at http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/reprint/201/8/1043.pdf; and G. Chapelle and L.S. Peck, “Polar gigantism dictated by oxygen availability,” Nature 399:114-115 (13 May 1999).

[20] J.F. Harrison, et al., “Does atmospheric oxygen level limit maximal insect size?” Geological Society of America Earth System Processes 2 (Calgary, Alberta, 8-11 August 2005); Danika Painter, “Big Ideas About Big Bugs,” ASU Research News, 24 July 2003, web article at http://researchmag.asu.edu/stories/bugs.html; and “Giant Insects Might Reign If Only There Was More Oxygen in the Air,” Science Daily, 12 October 2006; web article at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061012093716.htm.

In contrast to animals, which breath with lungs, insects breathe with a network of tiny tubes called tracheae. Air enters these tubes through holes along the insect’s abdomen, and then diffuses down the blind-ended tracheae. The distance oxygen can travel down the tracheae is dependant upon its concentration in the air. Thus, if atmospheric oxygen is doubled, it will make it twice as far. If an insect has a longer trachea (as do prehistoric insects), then one should expect the insect will need higher oxygen levels to breathe.

Harrison tested this by varying oxygen levels and insect sizes (grasshoppers and dragonflies) and by measuring their subsequent activity (jumping and flying), which is dependent upon oxygen reaching their muscles. He found that larger insects, which have larger trachea, needed more oxygen to continue their activity. Moreover, the smaller insects with shorter trachea were able to continue normal activity at lower oxygen levels. Thus, large prehistoric insects with large trachea must have had higher levels of oxygen in the atmosphere in order for oxygen to reach their muscles. If the oxygen levels were at present rates, the large prehistoric insects would not have been able to move or get off the ground.

This research is part of a broader “oxygen pulse theory” first put forth by Graham et al. (1995), which is summarized as follows, “The findings indicate that there was a ‘pulse’ in the concentration of environmental oxygen during the Paleozoic era. In other words, there was much more oxygen in the atmosphere 300 million years ago than there is today. During this period, the oxygen concentration in the air reached 35 percent, almost double the present level of 21 percent. Oxygen concentration stayed high for about 100 million years, then dropped precipitously to about 15 percent.” (Painter, “Big Ideas About Big Bugs”)

[21] 6 to 12 times the modern concentration of ~.03%, see G.P. Burness, J. Diamond, and T. Flannery, “Dinosaurs, dragons, and dwarfs: The evolution of maximal body size,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 98:14518-14523 (2001); and J.B. Graham, et al., “The late Paleozoic atmosphere and the ecological and evolutionary physiology of tetrapods,” in Amniote Origins: Completing the Transition to Land, S.S. Sumida and K.L.M. Martin eds. (Academic Press, 1996).

[22] Richard Hengst (Chair of Biology at Purdue Univ) and others have demonstrated that a large long-necked sauropod such as the Tithonian Apatosaurus (which had small nostrils and no diaphragm) required an oxygen content in the atmosphere of about 35% to function at any level above a very slow walk (slower than the rates deducted from trackways), because they could not ventilate their lungs as easily as birds or mammals. [See R.A. Hengst, R.A., J.K. Rigby, G.P. Landis, and R.E. Sloan, “Biological Consequences of Mesozoic Atmospheres: Respiratory Adaptations and Functional Range of Apatosaurus,” in G. Keller and N. McLeod, eds., Cretaceous-Tertiary Mass Extinctions Biotic and Environmental Changes (New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 1996), Chapter 13.

This is also seen in the “Pele hypothesis” [first proposed by G.P. Landis, et al., “Pele Hypothesis: Ancient Atmospheres and Geologic-geochemical Controls on Evolution, Survival, and Extinction,” in Cretaceous-Tertiary Mass Extinctions Biotic and Environmental Changes, Chapter 20]: “Dinosaurs required 40 breaths to fully replace the air in their lungs. Mammals and Birds only require 7 breaths to completely replace the air in their lungs. Large Dinosaurs thus required elevated levels of O₂ in the air to diversify.” [Robert E. Sloan, “Plate Techtonics and the Radiations/Extinctions of Dinosaurs, the Pele Hypothesis,” DinoFest International: Proceeding of a Symposium sponsored by Arizona State University, March 1998, pp. 533-539.]

[23] “One implication [of higher O₂ levels] is that the atmospheric pressure of the Earth would have been much greater during the Cretaceous era, when the bubbles formed in the resin. A dense atmosphere could also explain how the ungainly pterosaur, with its stubby body and wing span of up to 11 meters, could have stayed airborne.” [Ian Anderson, “Dinosaurs breathed air rich in oxygen,” New Scientist 116:25 (5 November 1987)] This article simply summaries and comments on the research by Berner and Landis.

[24] See Mike Bennett (University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia), “HBO Evidence: The Database of Randomised Controlled Trials In Hyperbaric Medicine,” available at http://www.hboevidence.com/; see also Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia, “Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy,” available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperbaric_Oxygen_Therapy.

[25] For a brief history and overview of how HBOT works, see Michael Neumeister, “Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy,” Emedicine from WedMD, web article at http://www.emedicine.com/plastic/topic526.htm.

[26] At the age of 19 months, “Baby Jessica” fell into an 8-inch-wide well in Midland, Texas on October 14, 1987. Rescuers worked for 58½ hours to free her, but because of her awkward position in the well which led to a severe lack of blood circulation, gross amputations were feared. Paramedics whisked her to Midland Memorial Hospital where she was placed in the hospital’s hyperbaric oxygen unit, which supplied 100% pressurized oxygen for 90 minutes, and her leg and foot were saved. (See “Use of Hyperbaric Oxygen in Texas Well Rescue,” New York Times, 10 November 1987.)

[27] Octave Levenspiel, Emeritus Professor of Chemical Engineering at Oregon State University, has theorized that “the giant flying creatures of the dinosaur age could only fly if the atmospheric pressure was much higher than it is now: at least 3.7–5.0 bar.” [O. Levenspiel, T.J. Fitzgerald, and D. Pettit, “Earth’s atmosphere before the age of dinosaurs,” 30(12):50-55 (December 2000); archived at http://journals.iranscience.net:800/Default/pubs.acs.org/isubscribe/journals/cinnov/30/i12/html/12learn.html.]

“Today’s South American condors, with their 12-foot wingspans and 25-pound weight, are the largest creatures that can support and propel themselves through the air according to basic aerodynamic principles… The pterosaur quetzalcoatlus had a wingspan of more than 45 feet—half that of a Boeing 737—and weighed more than 150 pounds. Either it couldn’t fly—but it did—or the atmosphere had to be much denser at the time.” [Octave Levenspiel, “Earth’s early atmosphere,” Chemical Innovation 30(5):47-51 (May 2000); available at http://www.levenspiel.com/octave/dinosaurs.htm.]

Levenspiel addresses the alternative explanation for Quetzalcoatlus flight (that they were gliders during South America’s strong “westerlies”) and concludes, “All these difficulties lead to improbable scenarios. To have survived and thrived for millions of years, these flyers had to be fast, efficient, and well adapted to their environment.” (Ibid.)

[28] For example, an Apatosaurus (i.e. Brontosaurus) would have to pump blood 25ft or more up its neck to the brain. Alternative explanations include: 1) it had a giant 5 ton heart pumping at extremely high pressures (no evidence of which exists); 2) it had multiple hearts up its neck (as many as 8); 3) its neck was horizontal and never raised above ~10ft (though other sauropods do); or 4) its heart was directly under its chin (which would necessarily involve the presence of many other organs in the same vicinity). [See Levenspiel, “Earth’s early atmosphere”.]

[29] Dr. Mori was a secular professor in the Department of Science and Engineering at Keio University who was interested in technological innovation, and thus his experiments were never intended to promote YEC—“He intended to enable all the living things on the earth to enjoy much more favor of the sun. Nowadays, there is an acute demand on the technological developments to harmonize the economy with the environment. His invention of HIMAWARI promises many answers to those problems as energy saving, natural alternative energy, global-warming and disposal of wastes and effluents.” (“Sunlight Collecting System ‘HIMAWARI’,” Laforet Engineering Co., 2002; at http://www.himawari-net.co.jp/e_page-index01.html.) He named the sunlight collecting system “Himawari” after the “sunflower” in Japanese. The system “transmits sunlight through optical fiber wherever it is needed, cutting off most of the ultraviolet and infrared rays. ‘HIMAWARI’ supplies value-added sunlight in buildings and makes indoor-sunbathing possible.” (Ibid.)

[30] Elaine Gilmore, “Sunflower over Tokyo,” Popular Science, May 1988, p. 75.

[31] Koichibara Hiroshi, “Tomatomation; Japan’s high-tech food factories,” UNESCO Courier, March 1987; archived at http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1310/is_1987_March/ai_4793139; “The system produces some 130 heads of lettuce and other green vegetables per day (some 47,000 per year) on a floor space of no more than 66 square metres. Grown from seed, the lettuce is big enough for harvesting in only five weeks, 3.5 times faster than plants cultivated using conventional methods.” (Ibid.)

[32] Some dinosaur bones show evidence that they formed rapidly, like those of birds and mammals, rather than slowly like reptiles [see Gregory M. Erickson, et al., “Dinosaurian growth patterns and rapid avian growth rates,” Nature 412:429-433 (26 July 2001); Gregory M. Erickson, et al., “Gigantism and comparative life-history parameters of Tyrannosaurid dinosaurs,” Nature 430:772-775 (12 August 2004); and E. Stokstad, “Dinosaurs under the knife,” Science 306(5698):962-965 (5 November 2004)], but the evidence is not conclusive nor universally applicable. For example, the 2002 Dinosaur Display at the British Museum of Natural History stated: “Dinosaurs may have had no maximum size and carried on growing slowly throughout their lives. Some fossil bones have growth rings, like trees, but not clearly enough to show how long the dinosaurs lived.”

[33] See Walt Brown’s discussion of the 7 primary problems facing the canopy theory: pressure, heat, light, nucleation, greenhouse, support, and ultraviolet rays (“Scientific Arguments Opposing a Canopy,” In the Beginning, 261-263; archived at http://www.creationscience.com/onlinebook/FAQ33.html.)