Creation Moments

Imagine that you want to catch some fish, but all you see before you is dry sand. It hasn't rained in some time, and there is no sign of life. Now imagine that you also have a large tanker truck of water. So you pump the water out of the tanker and let it run into a depression in the sand. Let's say it takes you ten minutes to shut off the water and pull a net from the front seat. By the time you get to the small pool you've created, you can net fish.

That's exactly what researchers did. And they caught instant fish! These fish are called salamander fish. They live only in the on‑again, off‑again lakes and ponds of southwestern Australia. When there is plenty of rain the fish live in their ponds, feeding on insect larvae. But when the ponds dry up, the fish follow the water table underground, burrowing into the sand and entering a kind of dormant state, apparently breathing through their skin.

The salamander fish has no living relatives, and doesn't seem to be related to anything else in an evolutionary sense. Its skull is extra large and strong for its size, and its spinal bones are separated, providing extra power and mobility for digging in the sand.

While millions of lakes and ponds with fish have dried up throughout history, there is no evidence that fish have ever learned to change their way of life so that they could continue to live during dry spells. The salamander fish was obviously created with this very special ability. Just as the Bible says, all creatures were created fully formed by God.

Psalm 100:1-3

"Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture."

Prayer: Dear Lord, the salamander fish has no one but You to thank for its wonderful abilities. I thank you that this is true for all of us, and I ask that You would help me learn to see and use all the abilities You have given me to Your glory. Amen.

REF.: Benowitz, Steve. Of instant fish and pickled sharks. Ohio State Quest. Image: Lepidogalaxias (slamander fish), Magdaléna Kostková, CC0, Wikimedia Commons + 256-17 Lepidogalaxias (slamander fish), Magdaléna Kostková, CC0, Wikimedia Commons + Ubs6u!d-pongsakorn, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.