Re: New Sickle-Clawed Fossil From Madagascar Links Birds and...

[Jeff Hecht <jhecht@world.std.com>]

The story was embargoed until March 20, but AAAS lifted the embargo because
of a leak. This is indeed an interesting critter, and once again raises the
question of why these "primitive" birds lasted so long. It's pretty clear
that we simply have not seen huge chunks of the avian fossil record. Check
out the paper when you see Science. -- Jeff Hecht

   FOR IMMEDIATE ATTENTION:  EMBARGO LIFT

     PRIMITIVE DINOSAUR-LIKE BIRD PAPER BY FORSTER ET AL.
     FEATURED IN 20 MARCH 1998 SCIENCE

     Due to an embargo break caused by ScienceDaily (www.sciencedaily.com),
     Science is lifting the embargo on the Forster et al. paper scheduled
     for the 20 March issue.  The embargo lift is effective immediately.
     ScienceDaily is unrelated to the journal Science and AAAS.


     **PRIMITIVE DINOSAUR-LIKE BIRD DISCOVERED:  Forster et al. add to the
     debate over the origin of birds with their discovery of Rahona
     ostromi, a raven-sized primitive bird. The partial skeleton was
     recovered from a small quarry in Upper Cretaceous rocks in
     northwestern Madagascar and, according to the authors, exhibits
     features that indicate a theropod ancestry. Conventional wisdom has it
     that birds descended from dinosaurs, such as theropods or basal
     archosauriforms, but others argue against this view. The new fossil
     has a reversed hallux and ulnar papillae, which are distinctly avian
     features. But it retains other features more characteristic of
     theropods,including one unique to that dinosaur group--a robust,
     hyperextendible second digit on the hind food that terminates in a
     sickle-like claw. The authors say this makes "Rahona one of the most
     primitive birds yet discovered."