Re: Origin of feathers

["John V Jackson" <jjackson@interalpha.co.uk>]

-----Original Message---- from DinoGeorge Date: 10 April 1998 19:26


>In a message dated 98-04-10 08:21:39 EDT, jjackson@interalpha.co.uk writes:
>
><< The benefit would be immediate in my skin-friction drag scenario,
surely? >>
>
>Yes(!).  [snip]

Wow! Alright, I'll acknowledge the display function!

The only thing is, it's never really been impressed on me that sulphur
excretion features much in anything else.  Sodium, potassium, water,
nitrogen, calcium etc. -  but I've never heard of any animal having a
noteworthy sulphur control system, nor have I ever heard of any disease,
human or otherwise, due to an imbalance of sulphur.  I've gained the
impression that birds/dinos are ahead of mammals in the excretion department
(as they are in lungs, eyes etc).  (I think they can distinguish between
potassium and sodium, and there is some advantage or other to their solid
nitrogen excretion system.)  It came as a bit of a surprise to see them as
having a problem to solve with S.

> They could simply have been fuzzy little archosaurs.
>
>Luis Rey painted one of these for the frontispiece of my 1994 Omni article.

If you remember, I complemented both of you on the prediction, and also
predicted myself that no-one would ever acknowledge any influence to their
theories of your successful prediction in the light of _Sinosauropteryx_!

It will soon be a good time to "find" those missing six.  Surely they will
turn out to resemble all the new finds.

JJ