Re: What the fossil record tells us about trends in pterosaur diversity

["Jaime A. Headden" <qilongia@yahoo.com>]

David Peters wrote:

<[T]he Solnhofen geography was made up of isolated islands with lots of beach 
front property. Sort of like the Galapagos, only on a larger scale? Prime real 
estate for changes to occur.>

  I'm sorry, you're equating massive taxonomic changes and the origin of clades 
with the microspecific alterations among tortoises, iguanas, and finches? These 
taxa all retain virtually the same *genus*, and certainly the same *family* 
when it comes to "resolution" in the now, but Solnhofen, represents a series of 
isolated lagoons, much like how the Liaoning region represents various lakes, 
which just happen to be good at collecting dead animals. The demise of animals 
tells us nothing about the originating points for taxa, which are impossible to 
pin down in the fossil record.

  Cheers,

Jaime A. Headden

"Innocent, unbiased observation is a myth." --- P.B. Medawar (1969)