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Re: Archaeopteryx and Flight



>Pace Xenophon, but this is not exactly so.  The  wings are extended during
>running primarily in display.  In fact most cursorial birds keep their wings
>folded during running; to do otherwise  would increase drag and add lift,
>making running harder, not easier.

Brings up a good point.  If wing-like structures were to evolve
on cursorial animals, it would, as with racing cars, be connected
with an instinct to use them to _decrease_ lift rather than increase
for just this reason.  That contradiction would seem to make the
cursorial hypothesis much harder to believe.

regards,
Larry Smith