Re: *Archaeopteryx* Bros.

["David Marjanovic" <david.marjanovic@gmx.at>]

I'm just cleaning up my inbox (has reached over 4300 messages, fortunately
on the harddisk, but...), and there I've found the following:

----- Original Message -----
From: "David Marjanovic" <david.marjanovic@gmx.at>
To: "The Dinosaur Mailing List" <dinosaur@usc.edu>
Sent: Saturday, March 17, 2001 8:58 PM
Subject: *Archaeopteryx* Bros.

> [...]
> > Keep the enhanced predatory capabilities of maniraptorans, and
> > evolve flight to increase the animal's versatility as a predator (e.g.
to
> > swoop down from the trees onto prey below; increase the theropod's
> > hunting range; escape from larger predators by flying away.)
>
> Sounds like a good idea on the ecological niche of *Rahonavis*.

My error -- it doesn't. Not in the least:

James A. Hopson: Pedal proportions of living and fossil birds indicate
arboreal or terrestrial specialization, SVP meeting abstracts 1998, suppl.
to JVP 18(3) (September 1998), p. 52A

"Much controversy exists as to whether *Archaeopteryx* and other early birds
were primarily ground-dwelling or arboreal. In living birds, the relative
lengths of the three non-ungual phalanges of pedal digit III discriminate
between feet primarily adapted for grasping (i. e., climbing, perching and
seizing) from those primarily adapted for walking and running on the ground.
Almost without exception, phalanx 3 is longer than phalanx 2 in grasping
feet, whereas the phalanges in walking feet decrease in length from 1 to 3.
That these proportional differences reflect functional rather than taxonomic
categories is indicated by the fact that within many primarily arboreal
groups (with grasping phalangeal proportions), more ground-living members
have terrestrial phalangeal proportions. This is the case for the secretary
bird among falconiforms, roadrunners and coucals among cuckoos, the kakapo
among parrots, and the ground hornbill. Preliminary analyses of Mesozoic
birds suggest that *Archaeopteryx* and *Confuciusornis*, with terrestrial
proportions similar to those of pigeons, probably spent a great deal of time
on the ground but were capable of perching in trees [the high position and
shortness of the first toe of *Archaeopteryx* indicates it could not perch,
IMHO]. *Iberomesornis* and *Sinornis* have a perching-type foot with
passerine proportions, and *Mononykus*, *Rahonavis*, and *Patagopteryx* all
have terrestrially-adapted feet with phalangeal proportions similar to those
of living cranes. As expected, all non-avian theropods have walking feet
and, except for *Eoraptor*, grasping hands."

Too bad all SVP meetings have so far been held/planned in North America...
:.-(