Icefish, Creation, and Evolution

A few years ago, we read about how the Antarctic icefish were equipped by their creator to survive in those extremely cold temperatures down yonder. That article was brief and simple, but now we are going to get into more detail and raise some questions for both Darwinists and creationists.

Credit: Wikimedia Commons / Marrabbio2

Some icefish have been referred to as "bloodless", which is somewhat misleading. Adults do not have hemoglobin and red blood cells, but there is something working like blood — or antifreeze. Instead of appearing to be a simple adaptation or variation, they seem to have undergone a full rebuild. Evolutionists are stymied and cannot give a plausible explanation for their existence. Creationists have some speculations that include genetic drift and adaptations (supported by family variations), and are more reasonable that what evolutionists offer.

Icefish are the only vertebrates that lack red blood cells and hemoglobin as adults. In vertebrates, these are essential for binding oxygen and then transporting oxygen throughout the body. But rather than this being a “simple adaptation,” the icefish of the Channichthyidae family appear to have several major anatomical and chemical alterations compared to other similar fish (even other Antarctic species within the same order, from the Nototheniidae family). The icefish has extremely large gills for its body size, no scales (which may help it to absorb oxygen from the surrounding water), a flexible (and less dense) bony skeleton. It also has a heart four times the size of similar fish, larger blood vessels than other similar-sized fish, has accumulated a lipid layer in its bloodstream that makes it more buoyant, and makes more antifreeze-like proteins than other cold-water fish. Oxygen exists solely in physical solution in icefish blood, which has an oxygen-carrying capacity of less than 10% compared with that of their relatives with hemoglobin.

 To read the entire article, click on "Clear as Blood: How Did Antarctic Icefish Survive Their 'Evolution'?"