Christian Ryan
While the smell of bread rolls, sautéed green beans, and mashed potatoes covered in gravy demand attention, everyone knows that the Thanksgiving turkey is the star of the show. But as you sit down with your family this Thanksgiving and prepare to carve your turkey, spare a thought for the incredible design on display in this bird. Though many of the farm turkey’s survival features have been watered down through the process of domestication, its ancestor possessed a skeletal structure built for running while on the ground and flying while up in the air.
This Thanksgiving, take a close look at your turkey’s wing. You will discover it looks an awful lot like an arm. Not only does it look like an arm, it actually consists of the exact same bones you can find in the forelimb of a cat, horse, bat—or even your own arm! This Thanksgiving, let your turkey teach you about comparative anatomy and the shared design of living things.
The views expressed in this article reflect those of the author, and not necessarily those of New Creation.
Give Thanks for This Lesson in Comparative Anatomy
The study of similarities and differences in the structure of different species is called comparative anatomy. Given that most of us partake in an annual dissection every Thanksgiving, turkeys provide a perfect and practical illustration.
Peeling back the feathers, skin, and flesh from a turkey’s wing reveals a very arm-like bone structure. You will find a single upper arm bone, two lower arm bones, wrist bones, hand bones, and finger bones. Some of these bones look a little different in turkeys and other birds. For example, the hand bones are fused to form a structure called a metacarpal. Nonetheless, the similarities are visible.
We see this exact same limb structure not only in other birds, but in many types of animals. Dogs, bats, horses, whales, and even humans, share this skeletal structure. In fact, you can find other similarities throughout the skeletons of these animals, even though they all look very different on the outside. That is because we are all tetrapods. This means we are living beings with four limbs, as opposed to animals like fish, sponges, or water bears. Why do we see the exact same skeletal design in so many different types of animals?
Why Are the Skeletal Structures of Animals So Similar?
According to conventional scientists, the reason all tetrapods share so many features in common is because they can trace their lineage back to a common ancestor. They believe that all tetrapods evolved from semi-terrestrial fish similar to Tiktaalik that lived some 375 million years ago. This process resulted in the stereotypical tetrapod body plan that allowed these fish to spend more and more time on land. As eons passed, these semi-terrestrial fish diversified into the many shapes and sizes of tetrapods today.
While there are many good scientific reasons to reject this narrative, young-earth scientists know from Scripture that tetrapods do not share a common ancestor that lived millions of years ago. Instead, we can trace their origin to direct action by God. He created living things according to their kinds. This means that, no matter how far back you trace a tetrapod’s lineage, you will not find a common ancestor of all tetrapods. But if this is the case, why do tetrapods share so much in common?
Common Design
We know from the Book of Genesis that tetrapods are not related through evolution. But they are “related” in the sense that they have a common designer: God! We humans design things in a similar way. Consider automobiles, paintings, or computers, anything humans have made. We can trace similarities to certain brands, manufacturers, or designers. In a similar way, God designed creatures based on similar patterns. These should then point us back to Him as the Creator of all living things.
However, it is important to note that a simplistic view of common design does not answer all of the questions we may have. For instance, if God is the creator of all kinds of animals, why are turkeys more similar to animals like parrots than they are to bats or pterosaurs? After all, all of these creatures were designed for flight. Why are whales more similar to other mammals or ichthyosaurs than they are to fish, since they were designed to live in the water?
An Archetypal Design
Whether we consider a building, an automobile, or a piece of artwork, the very existence of a “design” suggests the presence of a blueprint or plan in the mind of the designer or manufacturer long before the object comes to life in the real world. The same principles of intentionality and purpose apply to brands, styles, or artistic expressions.
In much the same way, God’s creation in the natural world is not the result of randomly similar or dissimilar created kinds of living things. Instead, it seems that He designed life according to distinct “blueprints,” or archetypes. Through the study of baraminology, we can identify which groups of living things represent unique created kinds. We can also identify which share similarities due to their miraculous creation at the beginning. God designed each created kind within these groups with a specific set of characteristics that define its place in the natural world.
Returning this discussion to tetrapods, for instance, we see how our Creator took a single “tetrapod” archetype. He then used it as a foundation to create many distinct kinds, all based on this simple common blueprint.
Conclusion
As the rest of your family grumbles at you for taking so long to cut and pass the turkey, it is time to return to the matter at hand. But now you will never look at carving a turkey the same way again. With a little help from comparative anatomy, we have opened a window into the incredible design patterns God scattered throughout His creation.
Learn More About Common Design
Why Do Dogs Look More Like Us Than Fish?
Why Do We Look So Similar to Chimps? pt. 1
Why Do We Look So Similar to Chimps? pt. 2
Noel Grimes
Paul Garner
Todd Wood
Abigail L.
Jake Ramgren
Good lead in for a good article. YES. There is a common design in biology. This is why man has the primate body. We are the only creature to have the same bodyplan as a unrelated creature. Primates. this because TO BE in the common design of biology we can not have our own body to represent our uniqie identity as made in Gods image. the only one. so we only can have a bodyplan that is a copy of the best one in nature. the primate. looking like apes is evidence of our unique nature.
Likewise the Turkey was a great flyier on creation week. Now its a domesticated relict of a great runner. I say oits exactly the same creature as so called theropod dinosaurs. both have wishbones and this creationist wishes organized creationism to embrace theropods as just flightless ground birds in a spectrum of diversity.