PROTARCHAEOPTERYX RECTRICES

[darren.naish@port.ac.uk]

Re: _Protarchaeopteryx_. One thing that struck me about 
the specimen when I saw it in person some months back 
concerns the rectrices. In Paul Chamber's (2002) _Bones of 
Contention: The Archaeopteryx Scandals_ differing views 
are expressed by assorted workers as to whether or not these 
are actually attached to the caudal verts. 

It is clear from close examination that they unquestionably 
_are_ attached. Unfortunately, a chunk of the slab's surface 
(containing most of the base of the rectrices) has broken off 
near to the attachment area, creating the illusion that the 
feather cluster is floating in space, separated from the 
caudal verts. In other words, what some people have 
interpreted as the quill tips are plainly not so and the true 
quill tips can be seen to be still attached to the verts. 

-- 
Darren Naish
School of Earth & Environmental Sciences
University of Portsmouth UK, PO1 3QL

email: darren.naish@port.ac.uk
tel: 023 92846045