Pterosaur Ancestor Fake News

Things get interesting when scientists do sciency stuff and we hear about technology that made detailed research possible, but they spoil things by pretending to have evolutionary offerings presentable to the Bearded Buddha. A fossil from 1907 was analyzed and out popped an alleged pterosaur ancestor. You know, those winged lizards that lived at the time of dinosaurs.

To quote Smudge the Cat from a previous post, "Show me the science." The boring fossil was debated all along, but interesting new technology let researchers find bones hidden inside the rock. The pterosaur ancestor is seen through a passel of imagination and more of that evolutionary faith.

Cast of Scleromochlus taylori, Flickr / Tim Evanson (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Reports have a wagon train-load of weasel words to build up the Just-So Story. Many assumptions stated instead of evidence, Darwinspeak presupposing evolution, and more. Russel Watchtower of the Ministry of Truth at the Darwin Ranch (over by Deception Pass) would give his approval.  Meanwhile, the fact that there is no evidence of evolution, and no reason to think that God did not create this creature, are ignored. People believe this stuff because it fits their worldviews, not because there is science supporting the claims.

Scottish fossil reveals clues about the earliest pterosaurs (British Natural History Museum, 5 Oct 2022). Look at the artist conception at the top of the press release. Does it look like a pterosaur?

Even allowing for generous artistic license in the coloration of this animal, it seems a stretch to consider this creature, dubbed Scleromochlus, as an ancestor to pterosaurs. It walks on all fours. It has no wings. It is described as “cursorial” – i.e., moving on the ground. It looks like a lizard but with legs underneath rather than splayed out to the side, as with modern lizards.

You can read about this effort to make Darwin smile at "Has a Pterosaur Ancestor Been Found?" A related subject from an Intelligent Design article (the author unfortunately accepts millions of Darwin years) is at "Fossil Friday: Ludodactylus and the Origin of Pterosaurs." The video below deals with the pterosaur feathers controversy, which is something people encounter although it was not a part of these particular articles.