Claim CH561.3:
The order of fossils in the fossil record is explained by the animals'
ability to escape the rising floodwaters. Slow animals, such as clams,
are found low in the fossil record, while quicker animals, such as mammals
and birds, appear higher.
Source:
Morris, Henry M., 1974. Scientific Creationism, Green Forest, AR: Master
Books, p. 119.
Response:
- Fossils are not sorted according to their ability to escape rising
floodwaters. If they were, we would expect to see slow-moving species
like sloths and tortoises and every low-elevation plant at the bottom
of the fossil record, while fast-moving species, such as velociraptors,
pterosaurs, and giant dragonflies, would be at the top. But this is
nothing like what we actually observe; in many cases we find just the
opposite. For example, in undisturbed strata there has not
been a single sloth fossil found below even the highest velociraptor
remains, and flowering plants do not appear in the fossil record until
after winged insects and reptiles.
- Even common present-day floods trap all manner of people and animals.
The violence of a flood that could cover the entire earth in forty days
would be bound to trap many individuals from even fast-moving species,
especially those that were old and infirm, crippled, or trapped in
low-lying areas. Therefore, we would expect to find the occasional
member of fast-moving species near the bottom of the fossil record.
However, the vast majority of fossilized species are only found within
certain relatively narrow ranges within the fossil record. For
example, human fossils are only found at the very top of the fossil
record (Pleistocene period and later), and tyrannosaurs are only found
at the end of the Cretaceous period.
- The fossil record preserves entire ecosystems, not just individual
species. Fossils of one species are found in association with fossils
of other species common to their ecosystem. If fossil distribution is
dependent on the ability to escape rising floodwaters, then all the
species within an ecosystem must be equally capable of escape for them
to be preserved together. But since these associated species include
both highly motile animals and completely nonmotile plants, this is
obviously not the case.
Further Reading:
Cuffey, Clifford A., 2001. The fossil record: Evolution or "scientific
creation". http://www.gcssepm.org/special/cuffey_00.htm
or
http://www.nogs.org/cuffeyart.html
created 2003-6-9
