ABSTRACTS
Evidence for a Holobaraminic Origin of the Cats
D. Ashley Robinson and David P. Cavanaugh
The baraminology of living cats has been investigated using recently described quantitative methods. A variety of characters including ecological, morphological, chromosomal, and molecular data were used to characterize 17 cat species, the spotted hyaena, and the meerkat. Application of phenetic and cladistic clustering algorithms defined three subgroups of cats, which are: the genera Panthera plus Neofelis, Acionyx plus Puma, and Felis plus allied genera. Quantitative analyses suggested that the three cat subgroups each form a monobaramin. Hybridization records suggesting a potential for gene flow between two of the monobaramins, plus extensive phenetic overlap between all three of the monobaramins suggested all felids could be lumped into a single monobaramin. Statistically significant gaps between the cat and outgroup taxa suggested these species were apobaraminic. Monobaraminic continuity within the cats and apobaraminic discontinuity bet! ween the cat and outgroup taxa leads to the hypothesis of a single Felid holobaramin.
A Preliminary Report on the Precambrian Pikes Peak Iron Formation Yavapai County, Arizona
Carl R. Froede Jr., George F. Howe, John K. Reed, and John R. Meyer
The Precambrian Yavapai Series contains the Pikes1 Peak Iron Formation, dated to the Early Proterozoic, a uniformitarian age of 1.75 billion years old. The origin and development of iron bearing strata remain somewhat enigmatic within the uniformitarian model because no modern analogy of iron-rich deposition occurs on earth today. Various models have been proposed by uniformitarians in their attempt to explain its origin and occurrence. Based on our examination of several outcrops, we propose that the Precambrian Yavapai Series and the Pikes Peak Iron Formation formed during the earliest stages of the Flood (Lower Flood Event Division) in a volcanic setting (possibly including hydrothermal activity) under subaqueous conditions.
The Angular Size of the Moon and Other Planetary Satellites An Argument for Design
Danny R. Faulkner
It previously has been argued that the circumstances of total solar eclipses for the earth-moon system are unique in the solar system and that this suggests design. This is reexamined using the latest data on the many satellites now known to exist in the solar system. This argument is shown to be stronger than ever. Some comments about the design argument in astronomy are made. It is suggested that discussion of the definition and application of the design argument be pursued.
FULL ARTICLE
The Critically Important Plants Called Mosses
Jerry Bergman
Mosses were assumed for years to play a minor role in ecology, but we now know they play a critical role in the earth’s complex biomass ecosystem. Without mosses and their relatives life probably could not exist on our planet unless the Creator supplied another means to carry out their functions. What was once regarded as an independent class of plants is now recognized as a part of a complex interrelated ecosystem. If any one part is too seriously disrupted, then the whole is threatened. These tiny plants have design features they share with the rest of the Kingdom Plantae, as well as unique characteristics of their own. Mosses exist in the lowest parts of the fossil record and are not much different today. The lack of evidence for moss evolution is common to most plants and poses a significant problem for evolutionary naturalism.
Fossil Wood From Big Bend National Park, Texas (Dawson Creek Region) Part V: Origin and Diagenesis of Clays
Emmett L. Williams, Robert L. Goette, William G. Stark and George T. Matzko
Petrified and charcoalified woods were collected from the Dawson Creek region of Big Bend National Park. The results of the various tests conducted on the fossils were reported in Parts I—IV of this series along with a creationist interpretation of petrifaction and charcoalifaction. Samples of the clays, in which the fossil woods were located, were gathered with permission of the Park Service. Tests were performed on the clays to determine their origin and the nature of diagenetic processes acting upon them. The clays are believed to be of volcanic origin. The original volcanic ash was altered to form bentonitic clays. This alteration probably occurred in the late stages of the Flood or soon thereafter in a post-Flood temperate climate in Trans-Pecos Texas.