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Re: quill knob question

----- Original Message -----
From: "Paula Goodman" <paulawilder@mac.com>
Sent: Thursday, September 27, 2007 2:58 AM

I've been reading with interest all the quill-knob discussion, there's
something I don't understand.  Are the knobs an actual skeletal
structure, or are they something that gets grooved into the bone over
time by the movements of the surrounding tendons?

The knobs are knob-shaped protuberances of the bone. A ligament connects each quill knob to a wing feather. The photos from the Nature article can be seen here: http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2007/09/steven_spielberg_call_the_spec.php