Re: the supracoracoideus system and bird flight

[Jeffrey Martz <martz@holly.ColoState.EDU>]

     I'd like a little clarification on exactly what sort of depositional 
environemtn the Solnholfen limestone is and how the Archaeopteryx'x ended 
up there.  I've kind of had the impression that the Solnholfen were a 
series of offshore islands, and the Archaeopteryx and pterosaurs and all 
the other nifty critters were oreserved in a lagoon between the islands 
and the mainland.  Is this even remotely correct?
     I'm asking to try and get a better idea of what the Archaeopteryxs 
were doing there, particularly if they were supposed to be arboreal.  
I've heared two ideas:
1) The Archaeopteryxs were living on the islands (or at least visiting 
the islands) and died nearby, in the lagoon.
2) The Archaes were living inland on the mainland, died and fell in a 
river, and got washed out to the lagoon.
     These raise some questions for me.  I've read both that a) the 
Solnholfen were scrub islands with no tall vegetation at all, and that 
b) there were trees around suitible for perching.  Which is correct?
     Also, It seems more likely to me that the Archaeopteryx died very 
near the lagoon, possibly falling right into it when they died or at 
least dying on the beach and getting washed in, simply for the reason 
that I find it hard to beleive that a little fragile animal like 
Archaeopteryx could get washed a ways down a river and end up  often 
(usually?) with minimal disarticulation and feathers relatively 
unrumpled by the time they reached the lagoon.  I know a couple 
specimens look like they've been worked over some, but I don't think the 
Solnhofen and especially the Berlin specimen couldn't have traveled 
far.
     Also, how common is Archaeopteryx relative to other tetrapod 
species like pterosaurs and Compsognathus at the Solnhofen?  I mean 
counts of individual species, not a percenatge of the total number of 
species.  In other words, what does its rarity or commonality say 
about if it was a rare an accidental visitor, or a native of the 
area?

LN Jeff