Re: origin of bats/reply 2 to TMK

[ptnorton <ptnorton@suscom-maine.net>]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Marjanovic" <david.marjanovic@gmx.at>
To: "DML" <dinosaur@usc.edu>
Sent: Sunday, June 22, 2008 8:23 AM
Subject: Re: origin of bats/reply 2 to TMK

> Though let me quibble with a few details: Archie doesn't have longer 
> fingers than *Velociraptor* and clearly still used them for grasping 
> (judging from phalanx proportions, claw size, claw shape).

Alternatively, the phalanx proportions in Archie almost certainly also 
allowed the digits to perform an aerodynamic function analogous to that 
performed by the alula in more derived birds. If Archie flew from tree to 
tree, as I suspect, extending the manus digits during the high AOA phase 
necessary when approaching a target tree trunk would have aided in avoiding 
stall and placed the manus claws in the proper position for grasping the 
tree trunk upon contact.

PTJN