Re: Lemurs and Feathers

[TomHopp@aol.com]

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