Comment by Anonymous

Entered on: 3/20/2007 9:11:14 AM

"An ancient arboreal lizard coasted through the air using a wing-like membrane stretched across elongated ribs, a new fossil reveals."

Question: How can you tell, looking at a fossil, whether the lizard:

(1) knew how to "coast" through the air?

(2) actually did "coast" through the air?

Answer: You cannot know either of these. First, there can be no fossil evidence of knowledge and control programs to operate any bodily feature. Second, whether the lizard actually coasted or did anything else is an historical question, not a scientific question. The fossil record supplies no evidence what the lizard did -- it supplies only the outline of body features.

Thus, due to lack of evidence, it is unscientific to make the claims of this article about this lizard.