Re: pteros have lift-off

[jrc <jrccea@bellsouth.net>]

----- Original Message ----- 
> Manual digits don't add power in the normal way, but there is an 
> energy-storage system in the long tendons of the wing finger.  They unload 
> of this stored energy is unusual for a tetrapod, granted, but would be a 
> very powerful catapault mechanism.

My thinking has been  that the manual digits help accelerate the outboard 
end of the metacarpal forward and up very late in the launch phase, but the 
animals appear to be able to get their metacarpals up to flight speed with 
or without assistance from the manual digits. The terrestrial positioning of 
the manual digits indicates that they play a strong role in keeping the hand 
from sliding outboard and aft during a liftoff from soft and/or slick 
surfaces.
JimC