Created Kinds

Genesis 1:20-23

20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

Commentary
At this point God created all sea life and flying animals. The Hebrew word translated fowl in verses is `owph. `owph is a general term for flying creatures including birds, insects, bats, and even pterodactyls. The Hebrew word translated as whales is tanniyn and includes not only whales but also serpents, sea monsters, and also dinosaurs.

The implication of these verses is that in day five God created all sea life including aquatic mammals, aquatic reptiles, fish, crustations, mollusks, and other invertebrates both living and extinct. He also created all birds, insects flaying mammals and flying reptiles both living and extinct.

Both the sea and flying creatures are said to reproduce after its kind. This is an expression of the observed biological principle that organisms reproduce the same type of organism. It also involves the concept of “Created Kinds”.  These Created Kinds are the descendents from the same original ancestors. While they are often confused with species, they are now known to be more equivalent to family or in some cases genus.