Re: Question: Why did birds lose their teeth?

[Tim Williams <tijawi@gmail.com>]

Dann Pigdon <dannj@alphalink.com.au> wrote:

> If the presence of manual claws wasn't actively maladaptive for the degree of 
> flight capable at the
> time, there may simply have been no strong selective pressure to lose them. 
> It may not have been
> until much later in avian evolution when flight capabilities were improved in 
> general that
> suppressing the development of manual claws would have made a recognisable 
> difference to flight
> efficiency, and thus became a trait that was positively selected for.


Yes, I agree.  And to add to that, loss of manual unguals might have
been tied to fusion of the manual digits (a feature linked to improved
aerodynamic abilities).




Cheers

Tim