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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