Terrible lizards trapped by terrible Flood
by Tas Walker
Published: 5 June 2007 (GMT+10)
This is the pre-publication version which was subsequently revised to appear in
Creation 30(2):16–17.
Theropod dinosaur
A trail of fossilized claw marks found in northern Spain reveals the desperation
of animals struggling to escape drowning in the Genesis Flood.
Ruben Ezquerra and four other researchers describe in the journal Geology
a large theropod dinosaur battling against a strong current in deep water, trying
to maintain its course.1
They reported a trackway of 12 footprints preserved in sandstone.
The series of S-shaped scratch marks picture a beast clawing at the sand on the
bottom as it pushed through water about 3 m (10 ft) deep. It only left claw marks
because its weight was mostly supported by the water as it struggled to swim against
the flow.
Ripple marks preserved around the tracks confirm the direction of the current and
the depth of the water.
Fossil trackways are distinctively different from the meandering tracks left by
animals when grazing, and they indicate the animals were fleeing from a common threat
in the same direction
From Ezquerra, et al, Ref. 1
The 12 claw prints. Those from the left foot align with the track way but those
of the right foot are pushing to the side as the dinosaur fought against the current.
Each footprint had two or three long, slender grooves cut by the dinosaur’s
rear claws as it thrashed on tip-toe (figure). Its left foot was pushing forward,
scratching grooves in the direction of its movement. Its right foot was pushing
sideways as it fought against the current, leaving marks at an angle to
its movement.
These tracks add to the hordes of dinosaur footprints already found in the Cameros
Basin (La Rioja, Spain). Of the 10,000 prints most belong to theropods although
many are by sauropods.
Dinosaur trackways are found all over the world and they almost always run in straight
lines, like these ones in Spain. Fossil trackways are distinctively different from
the meandering tracks left by animals when grazing, and they indicate the animals
were fleeing from a common threat in the same direction (see
In the footsteps of giants).
That the footprints were preserved at all indicates the dinosaurs were engulfed
by abnormal conditions. Today footprints are quickly obliterated, especially on
a beach or in a strong current. But in the sandstone in Spain even the delicate
features of the scratches were preserved, which means that sediment covered the
tracks (and the ripple marks) soon after the dinosaur struggled past.
Photo by Tas Walker
Ripple marks frozen in time
The flowing water was laden with sand and silt at the time, and this was deposited
in layers as the water level rose. There are more than 2.5 m of sandstone strata
in the immediate area, and, as well as the footprints, they contain current ripple
marks and underwater sand dunes.
All this evidence for catastrophe contradicts the age assigned to the fossil in
the report. The date of 125 million years assumes the sediment was laid down at
an unimaginably slow rate. However, rapid sedimentation in deep flowing water is
more consistent with the global Flood that occurred 4,500 years ago—especially
when we consider what eventually happened to the animals scrambling from the area.
As the Bible says, and the fossils show, the stampeding animals did not reach safety
but perished as the floodwaters continued rising (Genesis 7:21–23). The remains of many dinosaurs have
been found buried in the north of Spain in water-laid sediments, now hardened into
rock.
For example, Science journal described in December 2006 a new sauropod
dinosaur called Turiasaurus riodevensus,2 named after the area and village where its fossilized
remains were found. Up to 38 metres long and 48 tons in weight, it’s estimated
to be the largest dinosaur yet found in Europe. Altogether some 70 fossil pieces
were recovered, representing about a quarter of its skeleton. It was buried quickly,
preventing it from being scavenged. And it was not the only animal that perished
that way. There were other sauropods, as well as theropods, fish, turtles and crocodile-like
reptiles, all fossilized in the area. They were victims of the humongous watery
catastrophe that affected both land and sea, and inundated the entire globe.
Further reading
References
- Ezquerra, R., Doublet, S., Costeur, L., Galton,
P.M. and Perez-Lorente, F., Were non-avian theropod dinosaurs able to swim? Supportive
evidence from an Early Cretaceous trackway, Cameros Basin (La Rioja, Spain), Geology 35:507-510, 2007.
Return to Text
- Royo-Torres, R., Cobos, A. and Alcala, L., A
giant European dinosaur and a new sauropod clade, Science 314:1925–1927,
22 December 2006. Return to Text
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