Crocoduck

{{bronze}}[[File:Crocoduck.png|thumb|right|165px|''Crocoduckus catpotatoensis'', female plumage.]]
{{crenav}}
{{cquote|'''[Mumbles under breath]:''' Oh my God... What a numbnut.|||[[Brian Sapient]], watching [[Kirk Cameron]] unveil the Crocoduck<ref name="Numbnut">{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0DdgSDan9c&feature=youtu.be&t=258|title=God must exist... because the crocoduck doesn't!|work=YouTube}} (4:18)</ref>}}
The '''Crocoduck''' is a hypothetical animal, [[intelligent design|
intelligently
]] designed by [[Creationists]], and intended to demonstrate two things:
#What [[Straw_man|evilutionists ''ACTUALLY BELIEVE'']]
#That evolution [[Bullshit|fails to account]] for ([[Loaded_language|so-called]]) "[[missing links]]"

Crocoduck inventors [[Kirk Cameron]] and [[Ray Comfort]] argue that the ([[Poe's_law|intentionally bizarre?]]) Crocoduck is [[Straw_man|representative of what evolutionary theory actually teaches]].<ref name="RayBook">''[[You Can Lead an Atheist to Evidence, but You Can't Make Him Think]]: Answers to Questions from Angry Skeptics'', p. 30.</ref>

The idea behind mocking up this hilarious mongrel was to make ''nonbelievers'' look stupid — a plan which backfired completely. Unsurprisingly, the mere conception of anything as half-baked as a 'Crocoduck' successfully communicated ''the polar opposite'' message — with the Crocoduck fast becoming a running gag in the [[reality-based community]].

Honorable mentions include [[PZ Myers]] owning a Crocoduck-patterned tie (which he hilariously wore at the [[Creation Museum]]),<ref>As seen on [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PZ_Myers_%281%29.jpg WikiMedia].</ref> and [[Atheist]] YouTuber "King Crocoduck" honoring this timeless Creationist {{wpl|own goal}} as his ''nom de plume''.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/user/kingcrocoduck</ref> Every October 28th, [[Potholer54]] also hands out a Golden Crocoduck Award to one lucky Creationist;<ref>https://www.facebook.com/GoldenCrocoduckAward/</ref>

{{aquote|...for breaching [[Ten_commandments#Ninth_Commandment:_Lying|the 9<sup>th</sup> commandment]] by [[Deceit|deliberately lying]] about a scientific position in order to perpetuate a Creationist point of view.}}
 

== A meme is born ==
[[File:Crocoduck.JPG|thumb|left|<big>"[[Dunning-Kruger_effect|♫ ''TAA-DAAAH!'' ♫]]"</big>]]
{{main|Rational Response Squad debate with Way of the Master}}
The Crocoduck's non-existence was first brought to light by [[Kirk Cameron]] and [[Ray Comfort]], during a 2007 debate on the existence of God (held at {{wpl|Calvary Baptist Church (Manhattan)|Calvary Baptist Church}} in Manhattan) — parts of which aired on ''{{wpl|Nightline|ABC Nightline}}'' — wherein the duo explained their brilliant scheme:<ref name="RayBook"/>

{{quotebox|We imagined [[Willful ignorance|would-be genuine]] species-to-species [[transitional forms]]. We called one a 'Crocoduck' and another was called a 'Birddog.' This was to show [[Straw_man|exactly what evolutionists believe, but can't back up]] through the fossil record."}}
Consider their admission that the point of the Crocoduck was to "[[Dunning-Kruger effect|show exactly what evolutionists believe]]". No wonder the Crocoduck has become widely symbolic of the fact that [[Denialism|evolution deniers]] tend [[Not even wrong|not to understand]] even the basic principles of [[evolutionary theory]].

While simply presenting the audience with their homebrew Crocoduck alone would clearly have been 
stupid
 enough to make their point, Kirk and Ray actually figured it was reasonable to present ''two additional'' creations of theirs — the "Sheep-dog" and "[[Bullshit|Bull]]-frog", respectively.<ref name="Numbnut"/>

The lack of creative talent available to this dynamic duo becomes all the more obvious when considering that both "{{wpl|American bullfrog|bullfrog|"}} and "{{wpl|Sheep dog|sheepdog|"}} ''already name'' animals which even Ray and Kirk must reasonably know exist.

== Why it's bullshit ==
It goes without saying that the Creationist expectation of a transitional form being akin to "an individual chimaera of two random species" is [[not even wrong]], and stems from their [[willful ignorance]] of how evolution even works. As such, the Crocoduck is a perfect example of the [[straw man]] fallacy of over-simplifying the opponent's argument — in this case, the [[Science|scientific]] view on the nature of the fossil record.

Crocodiles and ducks have not had a [[Common descent|common ancestor]] for 245 million years; their closest [[fossil]] common ancestor, ''{{wpl|Archosaurus||,}}'' was far more like a crocodile than a duck, but both crocs and ducks have a mix of primitive and advanced features from their common ancestor, the basal {{wpl|Archosauria|ruling reptile|.}}

Just for the sake of argument, a purported Crocoduck (or similar chimaera) would be a most astonishing find indeed. Creationists purport that Crocoduck-type chimaeras are what evolutionary theory ''rests on''. But if such a fossilized chimaera ''was'' ever uncovered, it would in fact serve as evidence ''against'' evolution as understood by modern biologists.

Hence, the Crocoduck argument demonstrates that Creationists fail to understand the most basic claims made by the [[theory of evolution]], and as such, literally [[Dunning-Kruger effect|don't even realize that they don't know what they're talking about]].

=="Real Crocoducks"==
[[File:Anatosuchus BW.jpg|thumb|right|''Anatosuchus''. This is the real deal!]]
{{cquote|Take pity on the lonely Crocoduck<br>Whom none do love not bird nor reptile<br>Across the fields he runs amok<br>Proving evolution all the while}}
Various fossil species can be argued to be "Crocoducks", due to [[convergent evolution]]:

* {{wpl|Dromaeosaurs}} like ''{{wpl|Velociraptor}}'' and ''{{wpl|Deinonychus}}'' had feathers, which would kind of make them Crocoducks by any reasonable definition of the term. As dromaeosaurs were close cousins to birds<ref>http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/dspace/handle/2246/2870</ref> and were distantly related to crocodiles by virtue of both being archosaurs ancestrally... yeah, but, you know, whatever, it's not like Creationists [[baraminology|know how taxonomy actually works]]. One group, {{wpl|Halszkaraptorinae}}, likely even ''swam'' like ducks!
* In 2009, fossils of duck-billed alligators were found. The genus has been named ''{{wpl|Anatosuchus}}'' (literally, "duck crocodile").<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232680824_A_new_Notosuchian_from_the_Early_Cretaceous_of_Niger|title=A new Notosuchian from the Early Cretaceous of Niger}}</ref> Although it would be more accurately be called a "duckodile" as the positions of duck and crocodile are reversed between this and the original [[bullshit|theory]]; we are anxiously waiting to see what chimaera Creationists will howl about next.
*False-toothed birds ({{wpl|Pelagornithidae}}) were a family of seabirds with a superficially crocodile-like beak and teeth.
*{{wpl|Spinosaurus}} was an aquatic-adapted dinosaur with a long jaw, described by one paleontologist as "a chimera — half duck, half crocodile."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theverge.com/2014/9/11/6136443/the-largest-predatory-dinosaur-ever-was-half-duck-half-crocodile|title=The largest predatory dinosaur ever was 'half-duck, half-crocodile|work=The Verge}}</ref>
*{{wpl|Obdurodon}} was a monotreme related to modern [[platypus]]es. Like them (and, as it turns out, unlike many extinct monotremes, which had no evidence of beaks), it has a beak, albeit full of teeth. It foraged pelagically, making it more akin to a crocodile or an otter than the mostly bottom-feeding modern platypus.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://australian.museum/learn/australia-over-time/extinct-animals/obdurodon-dicksoni/|title=Obduron dicksoni}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:PZ Myers (1).jpg|[[PZ Myers]] [[trolling]] Creationists with his Crocoduck tie at the [[Creation Museum]].
File:Fred_Wierum_Velociraptor.png|Artist's impression of a feathered ''Velociraptor''.
File:KingCrocoduck.png|
Queen
 King Crocoduck's crowned version. The bowtie is a nice touch.
File:Spinosaurus attacking Onchopristis.jpg|Fossil reconstruction of a ''Spinosaurus'' attacking an ''Onchopristis numidus'', a species of extinct sawfish.
File:GoldenCrocoduckAward.jpg|A Golden Crocoduck Award, as awarded annually by [[Potholer54]] to one lucky [[Lie|liar]].
File:Pelagornis miocaenus.jpg|Fossil reconstruction of ''Pelagornis miocaenus''.
File:Спинозавр_-_новая_реконструкция.jpg|Artist's depiction of a ''Spinosaurus''.
</gallery>

==See also==
{{div col|2}}
*[[Potholer54]]
*[[Not even wrong]]
*[[Peanut butter argument]]
*[[Banana fallacy]]
*[[Fractal wrongness]]
*[[Non sequitur]]
*[[Willful ignorance]]
*[[Wronger than wrong]]
{{div col end}}

{{otherlang
|nl=Kroko-eend
|zh=鳄鸭}}

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

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[[Category:Creationism]]
[[Category:Ray Comfort]]
[[Category:Transitional fossils]]

Categories: Creationism, Ray Comfort, Transitional fossils