RE: the mystery of the furcula

["Williams, Tim" <TiJaWi@agron.iastate.edu>]

Stephan Pickering wrote:

> I would suggest
>the individual who criticized DinoGeorge to, at least, familiarize
>himself with avian literature, as the function of the furcula (the
>wishbone) has never been in doubt:  it is fused clavicles. 

Oh, that was me.  Thanks for the advice, but I am well aware that the
furcula was formed from fused clavicles.  I even mentioned it in one of
yesterday's posts.

>All of this is of interest when one begins
>examining the furcula of non-flying theropods, where the function of the
>furcula needs to be explored. 

Yeah, that was sort of my point.  There is a position in certain
aforementioned "avian literature" that the furcula has always been
associated in flight, and that the structure in theropods is non-homologous.
I don't happen to agree with that interpretation, nor with the methodologies
that purport to prove that this is the case.  (Again, this is not an attack
on Messrs Olshevsky or Pickering.)

Shalom.


Tim