Giant Dinosaur Bird Discovered

Cyclist110 writes "The BBC has the story of the discovery, in Inner Mongolia, of a Dinosaur bird twice the size of a man and weighing in at over 3000 lbs. From the article: 'Chinese researchers uncovered the fossilised remains of the flightless giant in the Erlian basin in Inner Mongolia. The researchers had originally thought they had found the bones of a tyrannosaur — the group of dinosaurs to which T. rex belongs — due to their large size.'"

Discredited

[phantomcircuit]

So this will be discredited when?

Re:Twice the size of a man?

[NotQuiteReal]

3000 lbs is not much more than twice as much as this 1200 lb guy [go.com]

But, in general, I agree with your shock and horror of picturing a 1500 pound man...

Re:Creationists

[jeiler]

"With that reasoning, wouldn't all plant life have died as a result of this "great flood"?

Yes, it would kill the plant life ... but that doesn't matter, because they'll think of some "reason" why it wouldn't, even if they have to fall back on "Goddidit." Creationism (like any other a priori position) does not rely on logic, reason, or evidence.

That's not to say that I feel that religion or faith or a priori knowledge is worthless--heck, I'm a theist myself. But (IMHO) when a person's gotten to the point that they'll explain away fundamental facts--as Creationists attempt to do--then argument is a waste of time.

For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who do not believe, no proof is possible.

Why beaks?

[Tablizer]

What is not clear to me is why so many bird-like dino's evolved beaks, even (so far) indepedently of each other in some cases. Other than pecking into trees, which was probably a niche of only a few, I don't see what advantage beaks have over teethed jaws. If a beak cracks off, it is harder to grow back than teeth.

Another little mystery is why snails survive. Their method of locamotion seems rather expensive and slow compared to legs. Being able to pull into a shell helps, but what about slugs? The insects should have wiped their niche out long ago.
     

Re:It's pretty simple (I'm a Creationist myself)

[catbutt]

I simply believe that ...

Based on....?

Re:It's pretty simple (I'm a Creationist myself)

[Anonymous Coward]

Based on what his parents and the church beat into him from childhood. Not that their fairy tales are of any consequence in the real world (apart from holy wars and anti-gay violence).