Rosa Rubicondior: Creationism Refuted - How Science Works - A Fossil Fly That Challenged Evolution.

Friday, 17 October 2025

Creationism Refuted - How Science Works - A Fossil Fly That Challenged Evolution.

A 150-million-year-old fossil with a singular adaptation may unlock the origin of quironomids | Estación Biológica de Doñana - CSIC

In a striking example of how science, in contrast to creationism, starts from the evidence and builds understanding accordingly, a newly discovered fossil fly has led scientists to revise their view on a seemingly minor detail of insect evolution.

Creationism, by contrast, starts with the conclusion and either distorts the evidence or ignores it altogether when, as is usually the case, it contradicts what they believe. To a creationist, the belief is sacred, so facts must comply—or be disregarded.

In my last blog post, I explained how psychologists view this behaviour as a perceived test of strength: creationists see challenges to their beliefs as threats that would make them appear weak if they accepted and adapted to the evidence. They respond by setting their faces like flint against any contradiction.

Science, by contrast, sees a refusal to change one’s mind when the evidence demands it as a mark of intellectual dishonesty. A willingness to revise one’s views shows a desirable strength of character — the hallmark of a good scientist. To a scientist, facts are sacred; opinions must flow from them. In any scientific debate, facts are neutral.

The discovery in question involves a Jurassic fossil midge from Australia — Telmatomyia talbragarica, the oldest known member of the Chironomidae (non-biting midge) family in the Southern Hemisphere. The fossil shows a mechanism for attaching to rocks using suction pads on its feet. This trait was previously thought to have evolved in marine species, but this insect lived in freshwater. That detail suggests the family did not originate in Siberia, as once believed, but in Gondwana before it broke apart.

Not the most dramatic scientific breakthrough, perhaps, but this is precisely how science advances — especially evolutionary biology: one careful step at a time, with constant re-examination and revision as new evidence emerges. It’s like working on a million-piece jigsaw puzzle without a picture on the box.

Talbragar Fossil Fish Bed. Here’s a summary of what is known about the Talbragar Fossil Fish Bed (also called Talbragar Fish Beds), along with a few caveats on uncertainties and ongoing research:

Overview & Location

The Talbragar site lies in New South Wales, Australia, roughly 26 km northeast of the village of Gulgong, and about 125 km east of Dubbo. [1]
More precisely, it’s about 14 km north–northwest of Ulan. [2]
The deposit was first discovered in 1889 by Arthur Lowe, and was first mentioned in the literature in 1895 (by Woodward). [3]

Age, Stratigraphy & Geology

The fish bed is dated to the Kimmeridgian stage of the Late Jurassic. [3]
The sediments are thought to represent the uppermost portion of the Purlawaugh Formation, though the beds overlie the Hawkesbury Sandstone. [3]
Lithologically, the fossiliferous layers are composed of siltstone, sandstone, and clay / tuffaceous siltstone. [3]
The unit thickness is relatively small — on the order of 0.5 to 1.5 m in total in places (though only parts of that contain fossils) [3]
The deposit is divided roughly into a northern site and a southern site, with some differences in exposure, thickness, and preservation between them. [3]

Environment & Mode of Preservation

The Talbragar Fish Bed is interpreted to represent a shallow, freshwater lake in a warm, humid environment. [3]
Because the lake was fairly shallow and likely short-lived, the faunal assemblage is patchy; parts of the lake may have been quiet backwaters or isolated pools. [3]
Some studies suggest the lake may have existed for only a few hundred years (on order of ~ 250 years) as a relatively ephemeral basin. [3]
Fossil preservation is aided by volcanic events: ash (and lahar) influx appears to have blanketed or filled parts of the lake, rapidly burying organisms and thus promoting preservation. [3]
Because of its fine-grained sediments and relative lack of disturbance, many fossils in the site are exceptionally well preserved, including delicate plant and insect remains. [4]

Known Fauna & Flora

The Talbragar site is notable for preserving a mixture of freshwater fishes, plants, invertebrates (especially insects and arachnids), and even occasional vertebrate/other remains. [4]

Fishes (Actinopterygii & Others)

Some of the better-known fish genera from Talbragar include:

Cavenderichthys talbragarensis — a leptolepidid fish and one of the most common taxa. [3]
Aphnelepis australis — recently revised (2024) with new understanding of its morphology and taxonomic placement. [5]
Archaeomaene tenuis — another fish recorded from the site. [3]
Cacatualepis australis — a coccolepidid fish. [3]
Aetheolepis mirabilis — known from a specimen with deep body. [3]
Also, more surprising finds include a non-marine chondrichthyan (cartilaginous fish / shark relative), indicating a possibly broader aquatic fauna than just freshwater actinopterygians. [2]

Invertebrates &am; Arthropods

A number of insects have been found, though historically they were less studied. In more recent years, researchers have intensified insect collection there. [3]
Examples include Calosargus talbragarensis (a fly, Archisargidae) from a wing fragment. [3]
Austroprotolindenia jurassica, a dragonfly, has been described from the site. [3]
Other beetles, rove beetles, and weevils have also been documented in more recent work. [3]
An arachnid, Talbragaraneus jurassicus, has been suggested (a spider-like creature) from marginal vegetation. [3]

Plants & Paleoflora

The flora preserved in Talbragar is diverse and helps reconstruct the landscape around the lake:

Ferns (e.g. Cladophlebis australis, Coniopteris hymenophylloides) [3]
Seed ferns (“pteridosperms”) and “seed fern” leaf-forms, such as Komlopteris purlawaughensis [3]
Conifers (various leaf and branch forms) [6]
Cycads, lycophytes (clubmoss relatives), and other understorey plants have also been recorded. [3]
A classic study, Revision of the Talbragar Fish Bed Flora (White, 1981), remains a standard reference on the plant assemblage. [6]

Other Remains

In 2021, the first tetrapod material from the Talbragar beds was described — a tooth assignable to a temnospondyl (a type of early amphibian). [3]
Also, bivalves, snails (gastropods), and trace fossils appear in the deposit. [3]

Scientific Significance

Talbragar is one of Australia’s key Jurassic terrestrial fossil sites, and particularly the only significant Jurassic fish locality in New South Wales. [7]

Because it combines aquatic and terrestrial fossils, Talbragar helps reconstruct not just the lake fauna but also its surrounding terrestrial vegetation and insect life, offering a more holistic view of Jurassic ecosystems in Gondwana. [4]

The fine preservation, including of insects and plants, makes it a valuable comparandum for interpreting fossilization processes and palaeoenvironmental reconstructions. [4]

Recent research (e.g. imaging studies) has used advanced techniques (fluorescence, elemental mapping) to study the distribution of mineral infill and preservation pathways in Talbragar fossils. [4]

Additionally, taxonomic revisions (such as of Aphnelepis australis) continue to refine our understanding of the fish fauna, their relationships, and biogeographic implications. [5]

Caveats, Gaps & Challenges

The site is partly on private property (used for grazing), which limits extensive excavation and exposure. [3]
Many parts of the beds are eroded or disrupted, particularly in the southern site, making stratigraphic continuity patchy. [3]
Historically, insect and terrestrial fossil work lagged behind fish and plants; only in recent decades has insect paleontology at Talbragar gained more attention. [3]
Dating and stratigraphic correlation remain under refinement. For example, newer zircon dating has led to adjustments in the site’s inferred age and relation to broader formations. [3]

The discovery is reported, open access, in the journal Gondwana Research and in a news release from the Estación Biológica de Doñana (Doñana Biological Station) of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (Spanish National Research Council, EBD-CSIC).

A 150-million-year-old fossil with a singular adaptation may unlock the origin of quironomids
The finding, led by the Doñana Biological Station (EBD-CSIC), represents the oldest known record in the Southern Hemisphere of quironomids – a family of non-biting insects that play a key role in freshwater ecosystems. The new species has terminal suction discs that allow it to attach to rocks, an evolutionary adaptation previously thought to be exclusive to marine species.
An international team of scientists led by the Doñana Biological Station (EBD-CSIC) has described a new species of fossilized insect from the Australian Jurassic period, estimated to be around 151 million years old. It represents the oldest known member in the Southern Hemisphere of the Chironomidae family — non-biting midges that inhabit freshwater environments. The fossil shows a unique evolutionary adaptation: a mechanism, that likely allowing it to firmly anchor to surrounding rocks. Until now, this mechanism was thought to be exclusive to marine species.

The fossilized remains were discovered in the Talbragar fish beds in New South Wales. The research, published in the journal Gondwana Research, included contributions from the Australian Museum Research Institute, the University of New South Wales, the University of Munich, and Massey University, New Zealand.

The fly from the stagnant waters

This fossil, which is the oldest registered find in the Southern Hemisphere, indicates that this group of freshwater animals might have originated on the southern supercontinent of Gondwana.

Viktor Baranov, first author
Doñana Biological Station (EBD)-CSIC
Seville 41092, Spain.

The new species has been named Telmatomyia talbragarica, which translates to "fly from the stagnant waters," reflecting the lacustrine nature of the habitat at Talbragar.

The current research involved analyzing six fossilized specimens —both pupae and eclosing adults— that exhibited a terminal disc. This mechanism, which functions in tide-influenced habitats, was previously thought to be exclusive to marine species. However, sedimentological and paleontological evidence from the Talbragar Fish Beds suggests a freshwater paleoenvironment, highlighting the phenotypic plasticity displayed by chironomids.

New insights on the origin of the family

Podonominae has long been utilized as a model system for biogeographical study, offering an ideal medium to describe and interpret the general patterns governing the distribution and origin of biological diversity.

Initial theories proposed that Podonominae flies originated in Northern Gondwana and later expanded into Laurasia, the supercontinent located in the Northern Hemisphere. However, their fossil record is scarce due to taphonomic biases and the lack of studies focused on fossils from the Southern Hemisphere. Later, the discovery of older fossils in Eurasia, dating from the Jurassic, led to new interpretations suggesting that their origin was in Laurasia.

Now this new study provides compelling evidence that the Podonominae subfamily probably originated in the Southern Hemisphere and later dispersed and expanded globally.

Contemporary Podonominae are found almost entirely in the Southern Hemisphere and their disjunct distribution across South America, Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand represents a classic case of vicariance. This biological phenomenon takes place when a geographical barrier —like a mountain range or a river— divides a species' population, compelling the isolated groups to undergo independent evolution, which results in the creation of new species. According to the hypothesis proposed by Swedish entomologist Lars Brundin in 1966, the Podonominae populations experienced this process after the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana fragmented.

Limitations due to the scarcity of fossils in the Southern Hemisphere

While this discovery addresses a significant gap in the lineage's fossil record, a comprehensive understanding of this group's evolutionary history is still limited by the lack of Southern Hemisphere fossils. The majority of known Podonominae fossils originate from the Northern Hemisphere, with only two prior exceptions documented from the Southern Hemisphere: an Eocene specimen from Australia and a Paleocene record from India.

There is a strong bias towards finding and studying fossils in the Northern Hemisphere. Because of this we end up making incorrect assumptions about where groups originated”, explains Matthew McCurry, palaeontologist from the Australian Museum and The University of New South Wales.

[T]here are long-standing questions about the way Southern Hemisphere biotas formed and changed through geological time. Fossils species of tiny, delicate freshwater insects like the Talbragar fly are rare and help us interpret the history of life on our planet.

Professor Steven A. Trewick, co-author
Wildlife and Ecology
Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.

The analysis of the fossilized specimens, combined with genomics, will help determine whether the dispersal of these insects after the breakup of Gondwana was primarily passive or active. The resulting data will certainly be of value for comprehending and conserving modern-day biodiversity.

Publication:
Viktor Baranov, Matthew R. McCurry, André P. Amaral, Robert Beattie, Steven A. Trewick.
The oldest Gondwanan non-biting midge (Diptera,Chironomidae, Podonominae) sheds light on the historical biogeography of the clade.
Gondwana Research. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gr.2025.09.001

Highlights

This discovery is the oldest Southern Hemisphere record of Chironomidae.
Podonominae rapidly dispersed from Siberia in Jurassic, or of Gondwana origin.
Fossil has a unique suction disc—for survival in turbulent environments’.

Abstract
Podonominae, a group of non-biting midges within the Chironomidae family, serves as an important biogeographical model. For a long time, it was believed that Podonominae originated in Northern Gondwana and later spread to Laurasia. However, because the oldest known fossils of this group come from the Jurassic period in Eurasia more recent interpretations have suggested a Laurasian origin.

We present the oldest record of Podonominae from Gondwana, specifically from the Tithonian age (Jurassic) in Australia. This discovery is also the oldest Chironomidae fossil found in the Southern Hemisphere and suggests that Podonominae likely originated in Gondwana. The new fossil represents a highly specialized form of Podonominae, adapted to living in the littoral zones of large lakes. It has adaptations to this environment that are unique amongst Podonominae, and similar to those found in some modern marine Chironomidae species such as Telmatogetoninae.

Graphical abstract

1. Introduction
Non-biting midges have long been used as a model system for understanding historical biogeography, providing a means to describe and interpret general patterns in distribution and origin of the biological diversity (Matzke, 2014). Of particular importance was the pioneering work by Brundin (1966) that focused on the similarities and differences in a specific clade of the non-biting midge fauna (Chironomidae, Podonominae) in the southern Hemisphere. This work suggested that the modern patterns in diversity resulted from vicariance as the continents separated. Podonominae is a group of Chironomidae with a worldwide distribution (albeit mostly bipolar-disjunct one) that is an important clade to examine historical biogeography. The highest richness of extant species is recorded in the higher latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere, with lower diversity occurring in the high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, and few species known from equatorial areas (Ashe and O’Connor, 2009). In fact, 133 species of Podonominae are found in the Southern Hemisphere, and only 37 species in the Northern Hemisphere (Roque and Trivinho-Strixino, 2004, Ashe and O’Connor, 2009, Rodríguez et al., 2009.1, Siri and Donato, 2012, Siri and Brodin, 2014.1, Siri et al., 2024, Cranston and Krosch, 2015, Pinho and Shimabukuro, 2018, Luo and Tang, 2023, Shimabukuro et al., 2023.1).

Brundin (1966) interpreted the spatial distribution and phylogenetic relations within Podonominae as best being explained by vicariance driven by continental drift in the Mesozoic. Brundin, 1966, Brundin, 1976 thought that Podonominae as a group, most probably originated in Northern Gondwana, and then dispersed to Laurasia. This hypothesis, in Brundin’s opinion, was corroborated by the discovery of Libanochlites neocomicus Brundin, 1976, at the northern edge of Gondwana. This fossil in Lebanese amber (ca. 125 MYA) represented at that time the oldest known Podonominae. A Gondwanan origin of Podonominae was also considered consistent with the fact that the center of extant species richness is in the Southern Hemisphere.

Since Brundin’s original writings, numerous fossils tentatively considered to be representatives of Podonominae have been uncovered from Jurassic Oxfordian sediments in Siberia, Mongolia, and China (155 MYA) (Kalugina, 1980, Kalugina, 1985, Lukashevich, 2012.1, Lukashevich and Przhiboro, 2018.1, Ashe et al., 2024.1). These records cast doubt on the Gondwanan origin of the group. Taking into account a foundational role of the Brundin’s (1966) original research in the development of the modern historical biogeography, reappraising the geographical history of this group is very important. Analysis using molecular data largely corroborated Brundin’s original hypothesis, suggesting a Laurasian-Gondwanan split in Podonominae around 133 MYA (Cranston et al 2010).

Unfortunately, the lack of the Mesozoic Chironomidae fossils, and in particular Podonominae, from the Southern Hemisphere has severely limited capacity to test alternative biogeographic models. The majority of available chironomid fossils from the Early Mesozoic come from Eastern Asia with records from Siberia, China and Mongolia (Ansorge, 1999, Armitage et al., 1995, Ashe et al., 2024.1, Azar et al., 2008, Baranov et al., 2014.2, Giłka et al., 2019, Krzeminski and Jarzembowski, 1999.1, Kalugina, 1980, Kalugina, 1985, Kalugina, 1993, Lukashevich, 2012.1, Lukashevich, 2020, Lukashevich and Ansorge, 2024.2, Lukashevich and Przhiboro, 2011, Lukashevich and Przhiboro, 2012.2, Lukashevich and Przhiboro, 2018.1, Veltz et al., 2007). Many of these were initially regarded as Podonominae (Kalugina, 1985). Few pre-Cretaceous fossils of non-biting midges are known from the Southern Hemisphere. In fact, the presence of Chironomids from the Talbragar fish beds (Tithonian, 149–145 MYA) of New South Wales, Australia (Beattie and Avery, 2012.3) is one of the only indications of Southern Hemisphere Jurassic records of the group. No Mesozoic records of Podonominae exist from the Southern Hemisphere, and only two Cenozoic records of this group are known from former components of erstwhile Gondwana (both of them adult midges in amber). One unidentified Eocene Podonominae from Australia (Blake et al., 2024.3) and one Paraboreochlus sp. specimens from Paleocene- Eocene of India (Stebner et al., 2017). Despite a variety of well-preserved insects being described from Talbragar fish beds, material from this deposit representing non-biting midges remains largely unstudied in detail (Frese et al., 2017.1).

In this communication we describe fossil chironomids from the Talbragar fish beds that represent the oldest direct evidence of Chironomidae in Gondwana. All new fossil specimens studied are pupae and pharate adults. We critically re-evaluate the historical biogeography of Podonominae based on phylogenetic re-analysis of the group in light of these fossils.

Fig. 2. Telmatomyia talbragarica (AM F141771), female pupa. A) Habitus B) Terminal disk; C) Terminal disk, with enhanced contrast.

Viktor Baranov, Matthew R. McCurry, André P. Amaral, Robert Beattie, Steven A. Trewick.
The oldest Gondwanan non-biting midge (Diptera,Chironomidae, Podonominae) sheds light on the historical biogeography of the clade.
Gondwana Research. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gr.2025.09.001

Copyright: © [year] The authors.
Published by [publisher]. Open access.
Reprinted under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (CC BY 4.0)

Discoveries like this are not earth-shattering revolutions, but they are the steady, incremental steps that build real knowledge. Each new fossil, each revised interpretation, sharpens our picture of life’s history on Earth. This is how science works: it listens to the evidence, not to dogma, and it is willing to change its mind when the facts demand it.

Creationism, by contrast, is intellectually paralysed. It cannot adapt or grow, because it begins with a conclusion and treats it as sacred. No new evidence can ever truly be accepted on its own terms; it must either be twisted to fit or denied altogether. This is why creationist arguments look much the same today as they did a century ago, while scientific understanding has advanced beyond anything imagined in that time.

The contrast is stark. The scientific method has given us modern medicine, communications, clean water, transport, space exploration, the Internet and the ability to trace the history of life through fossils like this Jurassic midge. Had humanity relied on ancient texts like the Bible as our definitive source of knowledge, we would still believe the Earth was flat, immovable, and only a few thousand years old — and diseases would still be blamed on sin or spirits, not microbes.

A tiny fly with suction pads on its feet may seem insignificant, but it represents something profound: the power of evidence to lead us forward. Science moves; creationism stands still. One builds understanding — and with it, civilisation. The other clings to myths and calls that virtue. That difference is why we have progress.

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