Cryptozoology
From CreationWiki, the encyclopedia of creation science
Cryptozoology ("Study of hidden life") is the study of mysterious and elusive animals. It is relevant to creationism in that many creationists believe that dinosaurs still existed on Earth within the past few thousand years, rather than having gone extinct millions of years ago.
The credibility of Darwin's philosophy of universal (or unlimited) common ancestry requires many living things to have lived in the distant past; "ancient" creatures must, for the most part, have differed from living ones to make believable all the many forms which would have had to have been the progenitors of all presently-living forms.
Dinosaurs and pterosaurs seemed to satisfy the Darwinist demands for "ancient" creatures that differed greatly from present life forms. Also, while the contemporary existence of such relics is prohibitive on the Darwinian (e.g. uniformitarian, Old earth) time-scale, they are reduced to probable endangered or recently extinct species on a Biblical Young Earth Creationist time-scale.For over 150 years, almost all expeditions to find evidences for dinosaurs and pterosaurs have been for uncovering standard fossils, not "living fossils." Funding of searches for living dinosaurs and pterosaurs has been mostly from personal funds of the explorers. Major expeditions are as rare as the dinosaurs and pterosaurs investigators seek. This has delayed officially recognized discoveries of previously unconfirmed creatures (labeled "cryptids.") that might be living dinosaurs and pterosaurs.
Recently, cryptozoologists have been investigating reports and photos of living pterosaurs, in particular the ropen.[1] [2] [3] [4]
It should be noted that Creationists are not exclusively concerned with relict dinosaurs, pterosaurs or "ancient" sea monsters like plesiosaurs and mosasaurs. Cryptozoology has been traditionally research with an evolutionary bias. Bigfoot theories abound with speculation as to whether he represents the "missing link." Evolutionary cryptid hunters also speculate that some Lake Monsters evolved from Sea Serpents after their habitats were cut off from the sea over long geological ages. Interestingly, evolutionist cryptozoologists now favor zeuglodons over plesiosaurs as the possible identity of Lake Monsters like the Loch Ness Monster partly because zeuglodons are not as "ancient" and are therefore more likely to have survived to the present date (Nevermind that crocodiles and turtles allegedly predate the dinosaurs and yet abound in good numbers!).
Related References
- Cryptozoology.com
- What is Cryptozoology? By J.P. Bates
- Is the Ropen a Rhamphorhynchoid Pterosaur? by Jonathan Whitcomb, C.C.V.
Related News
- Fishermen's observation re-stirs Champ debate Burlington Free Press August 18, 2005
- Bioluminescent Pterosaurs EWorldWire Press Release February 7, 2007
See Also
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