[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index][Subject Index][Author Index]

Re: How bats got off the ground (online article)

Impressive essay!

In fact, mostly due to insects, MOST animals fly.  Certainly by
species numbers, likely by individuals (though crustaceans may
tilt that a bit).


Nematodes probably tilt both. But they aren't as "easy" to count.

In fact, about half of all  living tetrapods fly (depending a
fair bit on which sources you use...I get values ranging
from 39% to 51%).

Probably it depends on how many more _hundreds_ of frog species are discovered in Sri Lanka... :-)

An additional factor that predicts low pterosaur diversity: *Rhamphorhynchus* and *Pterodactylus* seemingly grew slowly enough to leave year-classes. That means they occupied several different ecological niches in their life -- each of which could be occupied by a different bird species today.