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Re: Lemurs and Feathers
In a message dated 6/19/01 3:50:53 PM, Dinogeorge@aol.com writes:
<< Grasping feet were secondarily lost in most cursorial theropods; the small
digit I at the side/back of the foot is all that remained of the opposable
hallux. Having a large hallux pointing backward on your foot is rather
detrimental to fast cursoriality, so it is quickly vestigialized in such
theropods. >>
This is speculation, right?
<<I don't see any brooding wings in Microraptor (or that new small theropod
still unnamed). Feathers, yes. Brooding/shading wings, no.>>
You see ee-ther, I see eye-ther. Microraptor is perfectly suited to brooding
with those long ulnar feathers, to my eye.
<<cladistic analysis of theropods . . . misleads one into thinking that the
common ancestors of theropods and birds more closely resembled the theropods
rather than the birds.>>
I would delete the "mis" in the above statement. The fossil record seems
clear enough, unless one is looking for a bird precursor to theropods. From
theropods to birds, the progression looks real solid.
Thomas P. Hopp
Author of DINOSAUR WARS, a science fiction novel published by iUniverse
Now Humans are the Endangered Species! http://members.aol.com/dinosaurwars