Fossil Food Finds Change Evolutionary Stories

Four fossils give indications of what extinct animals ate. The results challenge what evolutionists thought about their complexity.

Eocene Salamander Ate Frogs

A fossil discovered in the 1870s got a closer look with new technology, reports Science Daily. Researchers in France used synchrotron imaging to reveal inner details of the salamander Phosphotriton sigei, which the article says is related to the living fire salamander. The fossil is dated at 40 to 35 million Darwin Years. The exceptional preservation of the internal organs and stomach contents surprised researchers.

The quality of preservation is such that looking at the tomograms (equivalent of radiograms) feels like going through an animal in the flesh. At least six kinds of organs are preserved in almost perfect condition, in addition to the skin and skeleton: muscles, lung, spinal cord, digestive tract, nerves, and glands.

But the most incredible is the preservation of frog bones within the stomach of the salamander. Salamanders almost never eat frogs or other salamanders, though they are known to be quite opportunistic. Was it a last resort meal or a customary choice for this species? This, unfortunately, will probably never be known.

The article calls the fossil a ‘mummy’ in quotes, leaving some doubt about the extent of mineralization in the specimen.

Jurassic Ichthyosaur Ate Squid

Contrary to the belief that ichthyosaurs (marine reptiles) ate fish, a juvenile ichthyosaur found in a UK museum ate squid. Remains of hook-like structures from the arms of squid were clearly identifiable in the stomach of an “exceptional” specimen of Ichthyosaurus communis, says the BBC News. Practically complete, the fossil is claimed to be 199 to 196 million Darwin Years old, Science Daily adds. Neither article explains what circumstances must have prevailed to bury a 2.3-foot-long ichthyosaur with its stomach contents intact.

Early Permian Amphibian Ate Reptiles

The actual meal of an extinct amphibian called a dissorophid is not mentioned by Phys.org, except in artwork of one grasping a small reptile. Dating from the early Permian at ~287 million Darwin Years old, this specimen from Oklahoma had a surprise in its mouth: teeth.

The idea of being bitten by a nearly toothless modern frog or salamander sounds laughable, but their ancient ancestors had a full array of teeth, large fangs and thousands of tiny hook-like structures called denticles on the roofs of their mouths that would snare prey, according to new research by paleontologists at the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM).

Denticles, though smaller than teeth, are true teeth, the article says. The find raises an evolutionary conundrum: evolution by loss.

Reisz and his graduate students suggest that the next big question relates to evolutionary changes to the overall abundance of teeth: if these ancient amphibians had an astonishing number of teeth, why have most modern amphibians reduced or entirely lost their teeth?

Cambrian Trilobite Ate Worms

A fossil from southern China preserves the gut of a trilobite in iron-rich red. New research on 514-million-year-old trilobite fossils from this area reveals that trilobite digestion was sophisticated from early on in their evolution.
Credit: Hopkins, et al. 2017/ https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0184982

Another strikingly detailed fossil from China shows an animal with guts. The trilobite pictured in an article on Live Science challenges Darwinian assumptions: “Trilobite tummies were more complex than previously believed, new fossils reveal.” The photo caption adds, “trilobite digestion was sophisticated from early on in their evolution.” Stephanie Pappas writes,

The fossils show that early trilobites had crops, or stomach-like pouches that were once thought to have evolved only later in the trilobite lineage. One trilobite species even boasted a crop along with more simplified digestive glands, suggesting that the evolution of the trilobite digestive system was complicated, the researchers found.

One researcher, examining several of these fossils, remarked that “we should start thinking about this aspect of trilobite biology and evolution in a different way.” Would that different way include abandoning evolution? The new picture shows trilobites possessing more advanced digestive tracts than evolutionists thought. The creatures may have swum after worms rather than skimming the bottom like vacuum cleaners. “Some species may have been savvy hunters, grabbing marine worms and wrestling them into submission with their many legs,” the article says. And yet evolutionists date them to 514 million Darwin Years, at the beginning of the Cambrian.

For details on why trilobites and other Cambrian animals challenge Darwinism and support intelligent design, see Darwin’s Doubt by Dr. Stephen Meyer.

Do any of these fossils help evolutionists? They all show complex features thought to have evolved later. In some cases, they had more advanced features than living counterparts today. And they all show exceptional preservation, even showing what they ate. The fossils in these four cases range from 35 to 514 million Darwin Years! Don’t you see how Darwinian assumptions and mindless allegiance to long ages blinds the minds of the moyboys?

These creatures were not separated by eons, but lived contemporaneously in different habitats. They perished in a world-wide flood not that long ago. That makes sense of the data. That’s why they are exceptionally well preserved, even with stomach contents visible. Some ichthyosaurs were buried in the process of giving birth. Some fish were buried while eating other fish. These burials had to happen unexpectedly, suddenly, and quickly. The Genesis view explains “living fossils” and “Lazarus taxa” that remain alive today, though separated by millions of Darwin Years (according to evolutionists). It explains soft tissue in dinosaurs. It explains complexity from the first appearance of each animal.

A new film, Genesis: Paradise Lost, is coming to theaters November 13. The trailer shows scientific evidence smashing the icon of Darwin. Prepare to be deprogrammed.