Primarily due to intense medical interest, humans are one of the best characterized species and many developmental anomalies are known. There are several human atavisms that reflect our common genetic heritage with other mammals. One of the most striking is the existence of the rare "true human tail" (also variously known as "coccygeal process", "coccygeal projection", "caudal appendage", and "vestigial tail"). More than 100 cases of human tails have been reported in the medical literature. Less than one third of the well-documented cases are what are medically known as "pseudo-tails" (Dao and Netsky 1984; Dubrow et al. 1988). Pseudo-tails are not true tails; they are simply lesions of various types coincidentally found in the caudal region of newborns, often associated with the spinal column, coccyx, and various malformations.
Dao, A. H., and Netsky, M. G. (1984) "Human tails and pseudotails." Human Pathology 15: 449-453.
The entire quote was copy-pasted from Talk Origins. I know you think that TO is a bit biased when it comes to the evolution-creation debate, but you can't deny that the text above states facts.
The same page also wrote about hind legs that were found on whales. Here's the reaction of a creationist:
However, the spectacle of a whale being hauled out of the ocean with an actual leg hanging down from its side was a totally different issue. I don't remember my exact response, but I indicated that, if true, this would be a serious challenge to explain on the basis of a creation model." (Wieland 1998)
- Carl Wieland
Young earth creationist,
CEO, Answers in Genesis - Australia,
Joint CEO, Answers in Genesis International,
Editor, Creation magazine
The original text of both quotes can be found at:
http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/comdesc/section2.html
We have humans with tails and we see whales with hind legs... All facts.
The term 'atavism' was used earlier on.
Here's
http://www.dictionary.com 's definition:
1. The reappearance of a characteristic in an organism after several generations of absence, usually caused by the chance recombination of genes.
2. An individual or a part that exhibits atavism. Also called throwback.
3. The return of a trait or recurrence of previous behavior after a period of absence.
There are clear examples of whales that grow legs like their ancestors would have had, millions of yeas ago. We see humans that have tails like our ancestors millions of years ago. If god created us or whales in their present form, then it wouldn't make sense that we have limbs (and other bodyparts) that can revert back to a previous state.
Hindlimbs have been found in baleen whales (Sleptsov 1939), humpback whales (Andrews 1921) and in many specimens of sperm whales (Abel 1908; Berzin 1972, p. 66; Nemoto 1963; Ogawa and Kamiya 1957; Zembskii and Berzin 1961). Most of these examples are of whales with femurs, tibia, and fibulae; however, some even include feet with complete digits.
(Same source as the other quotes)
Why would god create whales with the genetic information to form feet with digits on hind legs?
Whales evolved from terrestrial mammals. This evolution starts not long after the demise of the dinosaurs.
Ambulocetus ('walking whale') is an ancestor of all modern whales. It is an animal that is in a transitional phase: It's a 'whale' with front and hind legs.
More info about the Ambulocetus:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/beasts/evidence/prog1/page7.shtml
How do creationists explain atavisms?