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Re: The Peters Strikes Back (pterosaurs)



At 06:05 PM 10/10/03 -0500, david peters wrote:
Entirely valid BUT pterosaur hindlimb diversity is still
lower than that seen in decoupled birds. That's the point.

>> You're assuming that pterosaur hind limbs are coupled. Hind limb diversity -- or
_any_ kind of statistical analysis might not show that. Only _evidence_ can show that.

This is certainly true. However, I think hind limb diversity is at least suggestive. Has anyone done a statistical analysis of the subject, comparing birds, pterosaurs and bats? There is diversity in bat hind limbs too (think of the fish-catching talons of the New World fishing bats, for example, or the limbs of mystacinids). It just doesn't come within a mile of what we see in birds (and if the hind limbs were not coupled, and pterosaurs were as aquatic as we think, I might have expected a few really long-legged wading types to show up).



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