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Re: archaeopteryx/hoatzin



 
 
Regarding the hoatzin/Archaeopteryx discussion:
 
Alejandro Grajal and Stuart Strahl have studied the hoatzin.
Grajal is (was?) at the University of Florida.  He reported
the the hoatzin practices "foregut fermentation".  The
bird reportedly smells rather pungent because of this
digestive process.  Because foregut fermentation takes up
a lot of space, the breastbone is reduced.  The hoatzin,
therefore, flies rather poorly.
 
If you have any old National Geographics collecting dust,
there is a short piece on the hoatzin in the 
September, 1962 issue.
 
In Robert Bakker's book, _The Dinosaur Heresies_, Bakker
briefly mentions the hoatzin (chapter 14).  Hoatzin chicks
are hatched possessing an unfused manus; two clawed fingers
are well-developed, and the third finger is slightly less-
developed.  This theropod-like manus continues "into the
first weeks of life in the nest".  Bakker relates (no 
source) that "the chick climbs through the vegetation by
grasping with its three-fingered, claw-tipped hands."
 
Heilmann (1927) illustrated the manus of a hoatzin chick
alongside that of Archaeopteryx.
 
Heilmann, G. 1927. The Origin of Birds. Appleton and Co.,
   New York.
 
That's all I have so far.  I haven't checked the journals
yet, but I suspect there is a lot put out on this bird,
because of its unusual ontogenetic growth pattern.
             <pb>