Anhanguera: Early Cretaceous Pterosaur of Brazil

Anhanguera, whose name means "old devil" in Portuguese, is a well-known genus of large pterosaur from the Aptian Stage of the Early Cretaceous Period (approximately 125 to 113 million years ago). Its fossils are primarily recovered from the highly prolific Santana Formation and Crato Formation in northeastern Brazil. This flying reptile had an estimated wingspan of about 4 to 4.5 meters (13 to 15 feet), making it larger than any flying creature alive today. Anhanguera possessed an unusually large head with long, powerful wings and muscled torso typical of the ornithocheirids. Its long jaws were studded with thin, pointed teeth, an adaptation for its probable piscivorous (fish-eating) diet, catching prey while flying low over the water. A key feature was the presence of keeled crests on the front of both its upper and lower jaws, which may have varied with age or sex. Distinctively, the upper jaw crest did not start at the snout's tip but was set farther back on the skull. Studies of its inner ear suggest it held its head tilted downwards and had an exceptional sense of balance for complex aerial maneuvers.

Global Flood and Fossil Formation

A single, global flood, as conceived by Young Earth Creationism (YEC), cannot cause the specific fossil formation seen in the Early Cretaceous strata of Brazil. Fine, exquisitely preserved fossils like Anhanguera from the Santana and Crato Formations require stagnant, low-oxygen lake conditions for delayed decay, not the massive, turbulent, and catastrophic sedimentation expected from a worldwide flood. Furthermore, the global flood model must explain the meticulous fossil sorting into distinct geological layers worldwide, representing a diverse chronology (like the Early Cretaceous), which would not be expected if all life was buried simultaneously. YEC's use of Genesis 7's "springs below" to explain this complex fossil record is an example of eisegesis (reading one's own interpretations into the text) to fit an external scientific claim into a literalist interpretation.

Old Earth Creationism and Genesis Days

Adherents of Old Earth Creationism (OEC), particularly those who follow the Day-Age interpretation, believe that the six days of creation described in Genesis 1 are long, indefinite periods of time rather than literal 24-hour days. They often base this on the usage of the Hebrew word for "day," yom, in Scripture, which can sometimes denote an extended epoch. This interpretation allows them to reconcile the biblical account with the scientific evidence for a universe and Earth billions of years old.

"Seven days by our reckoning, after the model of the days of creation, make up a week. By the passage of such weeks time rolls on, and in these weeks one day is constituted by the course of the sun from its rising to its setting; but we must bear in mind that these days indeed recall the days of creation, but without in any way being really similar to them"- St Augustine

Psalms 90:4 "For a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it passes by, Or as a watch in the night." Old-Earth creationists interpret Psalm 90:4 as support for their view that the days of creation in Genesis 1 were not literal 24-hour periods, but rather long ages. They highlight the verse's comparison of a thousand years to a day in God's sight, suggesting that God's perception of time is vastly different from humanity's. Scholars believe Moses wrote Ps 90 before Genesis. Most early church fathers equate Genesis days with a thousand years for each day.

From an Old-Earth Creationist perspective, dinosaurs aren't explicitly mentioned in the Bible because its main purpose isn't to be a scientific record. The Bible's focus is on God's redemptive plan for humanity, not on cataloging all species. Dinosaurs lived and died out long before the biblical narrative, which centers on the history of humanity from Adam and Eve onward. 

Behemoth and Leviathan

The creatures Behemoth and Leviathan, described in the Book of Job, are often mistakenly identified as dinosaurs. However, Old-Earth Creationists interpret these descriptions differently. Behemoth, detailed in Job 40, is a powerful herbivore with a "tail like a cedar." This is seen as a poetic depiction of a large, known animal like a hippopotamus or elephant, with the "cedar" reference being a metaphor for its immense size and strength, not a literal description of a sauropod's tail. Similarly, Leviathan in Job 41 is a fearsome sea creature. Its description, which includes smoke and fire, is considered highly symbolic, pointing to a crocodile or another powerful aquatic animal. The vivid imagery serves to illustrate God's ultimate power and sovereignty over all creation, rather than providing a literal biological classification of a dinosaur. Therefore, these passages use exaggerated, poetic descriptions of existing animals to emphasize God's might.

Old Earth Creationism and God's Glory

Old Earth Creationism (OEC) holds that the Earth and universe are ancient, often accepting the geological and astronomical timelines of billions of years. OEC relates to God's glory by viewing the vastness of time and the slow, complex geological processes as a profound display of God's power, wisdom, and patience in creation. Accepting the long ages demonstrated by science, such as the age of the strata containing Anhanguera, broadens the scope of God's creative work and thus amplifies the majesty of the Creator.