Re: Campbell's even crazier than a MANIAC? (archeopteryx

[Michael Habib <mhabib5@jhmi.edu>]

> Also, this part of the tree (basal Neornithes, with Neornithes being 
> the crown clade) is crowded with large flightless taxa: ratites, 
> dromornithids, diatrymids, brontornithids.  Is this a consequence of 
> chronology (i.e., many large-bodied flightless forms emerged soon 
> after the K/T extinction, because of the availability of recently 
> vacated niches); or did some innate property of basal neornithean 
> anatomy/behavior make them more likely to give up flight (such as 
> their level of flight capability).

Great question.  Interestingly enough, among modern birds, many of the 
neoflightless taxa show up in long-distance flyers.  In fact, this 
turns out to be somewhat predictable based on development, physiology, 
ecology, and flight mechanics of endurance birds.

Cheers,

--Mike


Michael Habib, M.S.
PhD. Candidate
Center for Functional Anatomy and Evolution
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
1830 E. Monument Street
Baltimore, MD 21205
(443) 280 0181
habib@jhmi.edu