Archaeopteryx had bird ears, according to articles in BBC News and ScienceDaily, 14 Jan 2009. A team of palaeontologists and biologists have been using CT scans to examine the inner ear structure of 59 bird and reptile species including a barn owl, emu, green turtle, and alligator. The length of the inner ear canal is a good indicator of how well the creature can hear and of its vocal ability. They used the technique to examine the inner ear of Archaeopteryx and found it had an inner ear similar to that of an emu, adding to evidence that Archaeopteryx was more like a bird than a reptile. Angela Milner, from the Natural History Museum commented: “Our previous research has shown that the part of the ear that controls balance was just like that of modern birds, and now we know that Archaeopteryx had bird-like hearing too.”
Editorial Comment: It is best to regard Archaeopteryx as the Platypus of the bird world, i.e. a mosaic of non-unique features which are combined in a unique way. Recent studies of Archaeopteryx have also revealed it was a fully formed flying creature. It is certainly different from living birds, but that just makes it unique, rather than a reptile in the process of turning into a bird. The fact that it is extinct reminds us there were once a greater variety of flying creatures than exist now. This is not evidence for evolution. It is evidence of a world going downhill, just as the Bible tells us the real history of the world is. (Ref. aves, cochlea, hearing)
Evidence News, 6 May 2009