Re: Archie a non-flyer? (was:Re: origin of bats/reply 2 to TMK)

[David Marjanovic <david.marjanovic@gmx.at>]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Tim Williams" <twilliams_alpha@hotmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, June 26, 2008 10:11 AM

> I've wondered this myself.  _Archaeopteryx_'s insular habitat might have 
> had an impact on its morphology.  Then again, birds with similar bauplans 
> are found elsewhere (e.g., _Jeholornis_, _Jixiangornis_).

(Those, though, have a joint between scapula and coracoid, like *Rahonavis* 
and Ornithothoraces, and unlike *Sapeornis* and the confuciusornithids. They 
are not as similar to Archie as the long tail makes one think.)

> How big did the Solnhofen pterosaurs get?

Estimated at 2.5 m wingspan in the rare, fragmentary adults...