>Art and Glenn,
>Fascinating stuff, I might have to do some more reading on this paticular
>deposit. Let me throw in one more complicating factor. Is it not these
>very deposits that also record whole "nests" of eggs found intact with
>possibly at least one case of a crouched dinosaur skeleton over them? If
>that is so it is probably this fact that most puzzles me in a global flood
>context. I guess I wouldn't be all that quick to claim I had an
>explanation after this exchange but I do see this as particularly
>challenging to global flood advocates. I was under the impression these
>deposits were not considered post-flood and I can't imagine they could be
>considered pre-flood and thus the dilemma. If I am way off please let me
>know since I have used this example in the past in conversation with YEC
>friends and I don't want to be forwarding missinformation. If not maybe
>you could incorporate this info into both of your hypotheses?
You are correct that the Gobi deposits were the ones that yielded the dino
sitting on a nest. Here is the result,
The closest associations between presumed parents and nests occur
in oviraptorid dinosaurs from Late Cretaceous deposits of the
Gobi Desert. The specimen described here is the first preserved
well enough to determine its precise relationship with the nest.
It is a large oviraptorid positioned over a nest of oviraptorid
eggs in the same posture taken by many living birds when
brooding. THis provides the strongest evidence yet for the
presence of avian brooding behaviour in non-avian
dinosaurs."~Mark A. Norell, James M. Clark, Luis M. Chiappe D.
Dashzeveg, "A Nesting Dinosaur," Nature, 378, Dec. 21/28, 1995,
p. 774
"Like most specimens from Ukhaa Tolgod, the specimen shows no
evidence of transportation after death, and is preserved in a
facies hypothesized to be deposited by large sandstorms."~Mark A.
Norell, James M. Clark, Luis M. Chiappe D. Dashzeveg, "A Nesting
Dinosaur," Nature, 378, Dec. 21/28, 1995, p. 774
The eggs in the nest are arranged in a circular pattern, with the
broad end of the egg pointing towards the centre of the nest. In
places they occur in two levels. Fifteen eggs are visible;
however, additional eggs are undoubtedly present in areas that
could not be prepared without damage to the skeleton. From the
spacing and distribution of the visible eggs, it can be estimated
that about 22 eggs filled the nest, a number typical of nests
that can be referred to oviraptorids. Individual eggs measure 18
cm long by 6.5 cem wide although post-mortem vertical compression
may influence these measurements to a small degree."~Mark A.
Norell, James M. Clark, Luis M. Chiappe D. Dashzeveg, "A Nesting
Dinosaur," Nature, 378, Dec. 21/28, 1995, p. 775
I find it quite unlikely that a flood could deposit the eggs in a circle
without smashing them to bits. I also find it odd that the catastrophe would
point all the broad ends of the egg into the center. That would be a very
organized flood.
Another possibility is that the animal perished while in the act
of laying eggs in the nest. This seems obviated by the lack of
eggs inside the body cavity. Furthermore the systematic
arrangement of this and other oviraptorid nests implies that the
eggs were manipulated by the parents into a specific
configuration aftger laying as in living birds."~Mark A. Norell,
James M. Clark, Luis M. Chiappe D. Dashzeveg, "A Nesting
Dinosaur," Nature, 378, Dec. 21/28, 1995, p. 775-776
Also, the new work appears to have found the first footprints in the Gobi.
"As luck would have it, first author of the
Geology paper, David Loope, professor and chair in the Department
of Geosciences, University of Nebraska, had studied depressions
of the same type in Nebraska and was the first scientist to
recognize them as the fossilized footprints of large animals.
While it is not possible to identify the Gobi Desert trackmakers
with absolute certainty, the only large fossils found in the area
are dinosaurs, a strong indication that the footprints were made
by such creatures as Protoceratops and ankylosaurs.~
"http://www.sciencedaily.com/story.asp?filename=980107070006
I have difficulty seeing how footprints could be left during a catastrophic
global flood.
glenn
Adam, Apes, and Anthropology: Finding the Soul of Fossil Man
and
Foundation, Fall and Flood
http://www.isource.net/~grmorton/dmd.htm