An Actual Chinese Dragon

Posted by -

For some reason, I was invited out to the Darwin Ranch to meet the new hand. It was a mite late and the shadows cast by the setting sun at Deception Pass made the going a bit slow. Once I arrived, foreman Rusty Swingset and his assistant Cliff Swallows had me meet Crappie Crankbait.

It seems that Crappie is a specialist in aquatic dinosaur-age creatures. He found it interesting that this is the Year of the Dragon according to the Chinese Zodiac, and recent research on a Chinese dinosaur fossil seems to fit right in.

Fossils of a sea creature, Dinocephalosaurus orientalis, were referred to as dragons by paleontologists. They cannot determine the cause of death, but the Genesis Flood explains it.
Dinocephalosaurus orientalis, Wikimedia Commons / Nobumichi Tamura (CC BY-SA 3.0) (modified)
Scientists actually used the word dragon regarding this critter because the long neck is somewhat similar to the long necks in portrayals of Chinese dragons. This is not exactly a new animal, but a few more fossils have been found.

Sure does look like a plesiosaur, but paleontologists insist that D. orientalis is not related and lazily invoke "convergent evolution" to explain the similarities. Paleontologists think they will learn about its evolution in the future. That's not science, old son, that's blind faith.

I mentioned to Crappie Crankbait that biblical creationists believe the Bible, and there is supporting evidence from history that man and dinosaur lived at the same time. (Rusty and Cliff grinned at Crappie. Cliff said, "Told ya he'd say that.") There are many eyewitness accounts, but since the word dinosaur is comparatively new, people called them dragons. In fact, when Marco Polo went to China, he reported that the emperor had put some into his personal service! Perhaps someone got a glimpse of these creatures.

Scientists are baffled about how the D. orientalis specimens met their demise, one offering a speculation that does not work. Biblical creationists can tell them what happened though: The Genesis Flood. It explains the distortions, crushing, and other aspects of a violent but quick death. Unfortunately, they presuppose evolution, deep time, slow and gradual processes (uniformitarianism), and so on. Those presuppositions keep them from considering evidence that could lead them to the truths of recent creation and the Flood.
In a paper published on February 23 in the Journal of Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of The Royal Society of Edinburgh, researchers discussed the recent findings of five newly discovered specimens of Dinocephalosaurus orientalis which had first been described in 2003 (based on a complete skull and the first three neck vertebrae). The species was first found in limestone deposits in southern China (Guizhou Province) in 2003, but subsequent specimens have been found in southeastern China (Yunnan Province). They are all dated to the Middle Triassic (conventionally dated to 247–237 MYA). After the initial find was published, little else was known about the creature, but the five newly discovered specimens completely fill out the skeletal pieces.

To keep reading, see "Chinese Dragons Found!" It would also be worth your time to check out "Year of the Dragon: Real Dragons Lived."