[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index][Subject Index][Author Index]

Re: A four-winged Archaeopteryx?



Denver Fowler wrote:


Longrich's study does bring the 'origin of flight'
debate back to where it should be: Archaeopteryx. I
think people have become unnecessarily sidetracked by
these recent spectacular, notably younger Chinese
fossils.
<<

I think that this concentration on Archaeopteryx
regarding the origin of flight is arbitrary.

Evolution is bushy, just think about these
Chinese 'dino-birds' with their different kinds
of feathers (vaned, non-vaned, four-winged etc.).

Feathers evolved definitely somewhere outside Aves.
So flight may have originated several times independently
inside/outside Aves.

Even Archaeopteryx may be on an sideline regarding
the origin and evolution of modern flight.

So concentration on Archaeopteryx regarding flight
may be something akin to taking a look at one tree
inside a forest without knowing of it's real importance there.

But to make this clear: Archaeopteryx is of course a very important fossil.

Cheers


Heinz Peter Bredow