Noah's Ark Possibility Project (NAPP)
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Table 11 is intended to provide a rough estimate of the average weight of adult prehistoric extinct amphibians. This may not be the
right criteria as the Bible does not state that the animals on the ark were adults, almost adults, adolescents, preadolescents, etc.
Age makes a significant difference in weight.
The biblical criteria for loading the animals on the ark is two of every kind of living
animal, male and female, and seven of every kind of living clean animal, male and female. The use of kind here most likely does not
agree with the poorly defined term species. Micro evolution (variation within a kind) takes place all the time and it is unlikely
that God would consider these variants as different kinds of living flesh. For this reason, Table 11 is based not on species but on
genera, the grouping one step above species. Of course genera might not be the correct criteria either.
Noah is told to bring two of
every living thing of all flesh into the ark. Based on what we experience today with overhunting, there is a high probability that
there were many extinctions before the flood. If a kind had become extinct before the flood, it does not fall under the definition
of living flesh and would be absent from the ark. No attempt has been made here to exclude any extinctions.
The total number of prehistoric
extinct amphibian genera is uncertain but could easily have been up to 420 or more based on the list in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_prehistoric_amphibian_genera.
All amphibians in the above list are included in Table 11. For now, 420 genera will be used in the calculations. Rough average weight
estimates were made for 326 prehistoric adult extinct amphibians. The sum of these weight estimates was divided by 326 to give a rough
estimate of their average weight.