Re: Arboreals dinos, handedness, what people sez etc.

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

> In modern ecosystems, there is well developed group of bigger arboreal
> animals. This includes herbivorous and frugivorous primates, squirrels and
> some procyonids, bears, marsupials and hyraxes; and predatory marsupials,
> cats, martens and viverrids.
>
> Was this ecological niche empty in Mesosoic and why?

Apparently it was pretty empty in the Mesozoic because of the lack of
fruits. Mammals resembling squirrels and tupaias did exist, though, and at
least some, like *Henkelotherium*, were certainly arboreal. The fossil
record is of course rather poor.
        The famous undescribed aye-aye dinosaur indicates that someone was
playing the woodpecker. So more arboreal ?nonavian dinosaurs may be lurking.

> Flight in bats probably evolved by jumping up or hopping down the rocks

trees?

> catching insects with front paws (modern bats use wing membrane to catch
> insects).

Thanks a lot for this idea. This hypothesis gets along without gliding!
Woo-hoo! :-) Do you have a ref for this?