http://www.evolution-outreach.com/content/8/1/17
Plotnick, R.E., J.M. Theodor & Thomas R. Holtz. 2015. Jurassic Pork:
What Could a Jewish Time Traveler Eat? volution: Education and
Outreach 2015, 8:17 doi:10.1186/s12052-015-0047-2
Abstract
Paleontologists use multiple methods to reconstruct the anatomy and
behavior of extinct animals, including direct observations from
well-preserved fossils and inferences from the phylogeny of modern and
extinct relatives. We illustrate these techniques by reference to the
biblical definitions of kosher and non-kosher animals; that is, how
can we apply these approaches to the hypothetical question of whether
an extinct form would have been kosher. The biblical categories do not
readily map to modern understandings of systematics, but are heavily
based on life mode. When given, distinguishing characteristics, such
as the presence of fins and scales in aquatic animals, can be readily
seen directly in fossils. In other cases, such as cud chewing, they
need to be inferred from the phylogenetic relationships of the fossil
forms. Dinosaurs (other than birds), unfortunately, are not kosher. A
kosher “paleo diet” would be increasingly difficult further in the
past. The use of biblical content as a way of introducing concepts
from paleontology and evolutionary biology, such as crown groups and
stem groups, should be of broad interest.