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Re: One for the bird brigade



At 05:12 PM 12/18/98 -0000, John V Jackson wrote:
>--Original Message-- From: Larry Dunn <majestic_cheese@yahoo.com> Friday,
>December 18, 1998 03:18 PM
>
>
>>What bird still alive today is considered to be the closest kin to
>>Archaepteryx ?
>[snip]
>
>
>If all birds are descended from Ax, (and I don't know - maybe I'm the last
>person left in the world who believes this :-) )  then all birds are equally
>closely related to it.  But you can tell the person who asked you the
>question, 'the hoatzin'.  It should keep them happy, and will do them no
>harm!

I don't agree.  I suppose it may depend on your definition of closest
though.  I presume the question really is looking for the least diverged
from Archie.  And given different mutation rates and even different 
genaration lenghts, I would claim that all birds are not equally related
to Archie.  

I vote for hoatzin.