Re: "Flight theory has legs"

[John Conway <john_conway@mac.com>]

On Friday, July 11, 2003, at 01:15  AM, Tim Williams wrote:

> http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/07/10/1057783286455.html
>
> I'm not quite convinced.  I wonder if Chris examined the hand-claws of 
> theropods.  After all, sinornithosaurs, microraptors and 
> archaeopterygians had *four* limbs to climb trees with.

Chris did not look at hand claws (and made that clear) - the predatory 
function of the hand claws in many species would have clouded his 
results at this early stage. After talking to him at length about his 
thesis, I'd have to say that his position on the origin of flight is 
somewhat more complex than the article would suggest. He is also 
looking at the possibility of a functional split that would allow the 
hand and foot claws to specialise for different tasks.


John Conway, Palaeoartist & Protophilosopher

"Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself, I am 
large, I contain multitudes." - Walt Whitman

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