Re: four winged Archaeopteryx

[David Marjanovic <david.marjanovic@gmx.at>]

> However, reduction from the distal end towards the base DOES
> occur through theropod evolution,

I am saying that almost no such reduction happened beyond the state seen in 
*Archaeopteryx*. Vertebrae shrank and fused, but almost none of them 
disappeared.

> This would argue that in "small-sacralled" birds the long tail was
> reduced before incorporation, while in "big-sacralled" birds, the
> tail reduction has already occured as the sacrum becomes more
> incorporating.

I don't see where the difference between these two conditions is supposed to 
be. Surely "was reduced before incorporation" means exactly the same as 
"reduction has already occurred as the sacrum becomes more incorporating"? 
Your posts are often confusing like this.