Wednesday 7 May 2014

“Jurassic Predator” Had Amazingly Sensitive Snout

Pliosaur. Image courtesy of Bogdanov, via Wikipedia.




Joel Kontinen

Recently, New Scientist reported on the amazing design found in an “exceptionally preserved “ 2-metre (6 feet 6 in.) long pliosaur snout. Adam Smith of the Nottingham Natural History Museum, UK. said:

"It is quite likely the skull had sensitive and somewhat fleshy lip-like structures… Pliosaurs didn't have any other appendages to manipulate food or other items in their environment."

The article suggests that the pliosaur’s “sensitive snout could help them hunt prey and manipulate food in the water… so pliosaur snouts had a sense of touch, and might also have responded to pressure or chemicals in the water."

The ability to respond to chemicals in water does not sound like the product of blind Darwinian processes. In contrast, it sounds very much like intelligent design.

Source:

Hecht, Jeff. 2014. Jurassic predator had surprisingly sensitive snout. New Scientist. (1 May).