Peculiar Femoral Feathers

[Waylon Rowley <whte_rbt_obj@yahoo.com>]

        Departing from the debate over underwater
flight for a moment, I've focused on possible gliding
adaptations in some of the better-preserved liaoning
maniraptorans.  Warning: Explicit speculative content.
       One peculiarity without explanation so far are
the elongated feathers that cover the thigh area.
After lots of doodling on tons of papers scattered all
over the house, I think I've uncovered a possible use
for them. If you have moderately-large wings on a
small maniraptor with a laterally-compressed body, and
it attempts the stair-stepping movement I've described
in previous posts in the underwater flight discussion,
any resistance on the part of the body will be
selected against, especially since these beginner
fliers probably didn't get much in the way of lift in
the first place. When you imagine the hindlimb folding
up into the position seen in birds during flight, it
becomes apparent that the thigh feathers overlap the
shin and foot, smoothing this area out. Basically,
just covering the "landing gear". Might have made a
big difference aerodynamically in a flapping dino. 
     In addition to this, any reduction of the dorsal
profile of the animal would lessen air resistance,
allowing more upward movement. So, this might explain
why the pubis migrated backward. It simply left more
room to hold the ankles closer together. Ooooooor, it
was more of a safety measure. Holding 2 large and very
sharp claws right next to your underbelly is just
asking for it. If Oviraptorosaurs are more advanced
flightless birds there would no longer be a need to
have a retroverted pubis, so it just popped back into
place....for supporting the gut or *whatever*. 
      Another thing that caught my eye about the
newest dromie (?) from liaoning is the length of its
legs. Could these be used for launching from a perch
rather than running? Hmmmmm.....

I end this late night purge of ideas with an amusing
quote from John Ruben:
"How is an animal going to have flight feathers on its
thighs that are half the length of its tail? How could
it run or do anything with flight feathers sticking
out of the back side of its leg? It is borderline
ridiculous." 

Cheers,
Waylon Rowley
        
    

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