Archaeopteryx gets a brain scan

[MKIRKALDY@aol.com]

There are two articles on the brain of _Archaeopteryx_ in tomorrow's Nature, 
which conclude "that _Archaeopteryx_ was probably equipped for flight."

"Inside the oldest bird brain" - Lawrence Witmer

"The avian nature of the brain and inner ear of _Archaeopteryx," by Patricio 
Dominguez, Angela C. Milner, Richard A. Ketcham, M. John Cookson and Timothy B. 
Rowe. 
 
"The remodelling of the brain towards the avian condition must have begun well 
before the appearance of _Archaeopteryx_ 147 million years ago in the latest 
Jurassic.  The convergent increase in visual and vestibular regions in 
pterosaurs(19) is further evidence that both an aerodynamic wing and a powerful 
central nervous system are integral to powered flight."


Mary