Re: Pterosaurs in trees? NOT!

[Nick Longrich <longrich@phoenix.Princeton.EDU>]

Although talking with some people today I've learned that there are
supposed to be some pretty good fossils of shorebirds and anseriformes
from the Cretaceous- Presbyornis like stuff, for example, so maybe quite
a few things made it across... If Presbyornis like stuff was really there 
that would imply a substantial diversification already, it being an
anatid- I'm gonna remain undecided on this one until I see some papers...
>
What I have heard about the late Cretaceous/Eocene fossil record sounds
> like it could be consistent with Feduccia's hypothesis of an avian
> mass-extinction and subsequent re-radiation.
> > 
> > Again, this could be more an artifact of the preferential preservation of
> > marine and coastal habitats.  In fact, there are a few short-winged genera
> > (including _Sordes_), which as I recall are from more inland habitats.  This
> > is probably also why our record of fossil birds is biased towards shorebirds
> > and waterfowl, even though the owls, woodpeckers, and songbirds must have
> > been radiating and diversifying at the same time!
> > 
> > NP
> > 
> 
>