Re: Archaeopteryx flight

[Jon Barber <augray@sympatico.ca>]

At 09:54 AM 10/19/2005 -0700, Ian Paulsen wrote:
> HI:
>  I've been reading differing view about how well Archaeopteryx could fly.
> Some sources say it was just a glider, others say it could fly like a
> modern day bird. What is the current thinking about its flight patterns?

A) Archaeopteryx lacked a triosseal canal, which indicates that the tendon 
from the supracoracoideus muscle (which assists in the wing's upstroke in 
modern flying birds) wasn't in its current position.

B) Archaeopteryx lacked a V-shaped ulnare, which helps to prevent the wing 
from buckling on the downstroke.

C) Archaeopteryx seems to have lacked a ossified sternum for the attachment 
of flight muscles.

D) It lacked an alula, which assists in low-speed flight and 
maneuverability control.

To me, all this suggests that its flight ability was far from that of a 
modern bird.

> --
>
> Ian Paulsen
> Bainbridge Island, WA, USA
> A.K.A.: "Birdbooker"
> "Rallidae all the way!"