Re: [Re: Feathered topics.]

[Raven~ <biology@ctos.com>]

> dbensen <dbensen@gotnet.net> wrote:

> The whole idea was that the dinosaurs couldn't
> breed because they were all female, but the frog DNA provided them with a
> mechanism that turned some of the dinosaurs into males.  Frogs do make those
> changes, and fish too, but I don't think any birds can, so birds are out as
> genetic donors.  So, the frogs were necessary to the plot.
> > Dan

I don't have the references in front of me (I know which book the
information is in -- but that book is not on my shelf at the moment!),
so I can't give you the specifics.  However, a number of birds can
indeed change sex.  Ask anyone who has ever raised barnyard chickens.

Check with an ornithologist for information on what types of birds and
under what conditions.  Keep in mind that with birds, it is the female
(not the male) that is heterozygous for the sex chromosomes.

Roberta M. Meehan, PhD