Re: Larry Martin's climbing Archaeopteryx

[Tim Williams <tijawi@gmail.com>]

Grant <gahrdng@mta.ca> wrote:

> <<A photo of Martin's climbing monkey-like model of Archaeopteryx is
> available in the Wikipedia Commons, although it's not used in the
> English-language Wikipedia articles about Archaeopteryx that I have
> found. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WLA_hmns_Archaeopteryx_2.jpg>>
>
> Well, look at that!  I stand (quite happily) corrected.
>
> Thanks to Ben and everybody else who pointed this out!  Though I still think
> that the image I made shows off the proposed posture better. :)



Yes, I agree.  The monkey-like _Archaeopteryx_ shown at Wikipedia
Commons looks like it's in pain.  No wonder: the first toe has been
pushed around to the back of the foot, slicing right through the
flexor tendons.  Ouch!     ;-)


The caption is as inaccurate as the model:

"Recent research on bird claws shows that claws of _Archaeopteryx_
most closely match the claws of anoreal [sic] birds, rather those of
ground-living birds."


Not true at all.  The hand claws of _Archaeopteryx_ are like those of
a predator, and the foot claws most closely match those of
ground-foraging or ground-living birds.







Cheers

Tim