Re: Re-emergence of lost features.

["Matthew Troutman" <m_troutman@hotmail.com>]

>Are any examples of normal-winged birds with throw-back clawed hands =
>ever found? 
>JJ
>


I wouldn't call them throwbacks. Many birds have claws for display and 
other obscure functions. Small claws are found in many a variety of 
birds ranging from hawks, ducks, ostiches, rheas, rails, pelecans, etc. 
They are actually pretty common and are distuinghing for many species. 

The hoatzin is the best example of an animal with a clawed hand. The 
clawed and seperate phalanges may be an example of arrested development 
that was selected for better tree-clinging abilities for the juveniles. 
The phorusrhacid manus was probably a predatory adaption. The mobile 
alular claw suggests this is the most likely possibility. What is 
interesting about the phorusrhacid weakly developed carpotmetacarpus is 
that wrist flexion is reduced. This is certainly a predatory adaptation 
and it shows that a mobile manus is not exceptable for predation.

MattTroutman

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