Re: Paedomorphosis ( Re: BARYONYX' CLAWS )

["James R. Cunningham" <jrccea@bellsouth.net>]

Ronald Orenstein wrote:

> >If you pin its advocates down, they will aver that BADD makes no statement
> >about the lifestyle of the common ancestors of birds and theropods.
> 
> I think the point is that although proponents of BADD may have their notions
> about the lifestyles of bird ancestors, these notions are really sidebars -
> proving them wrong would not invalidate the central cladistic hypothesis.
> Again, there could have been many small dinosaurs equally at home in trees and
> on the ground (as are many living birds), and a slight preference for one over
> the other might have very little expression in the skeletal structure.
> --
> Ronald I. Orenstein                           Phone: (905) 820-7886
> International Wildlife Coalition              Fax/Modem: (905) 569-0116
> 1825 Shady Creek Court
> Mississauga, Ontario, Canada L5L 3W2          mailto:ornstn@inforamp.net
> 
You're right about this.  I'm a BADD advocate, and have no opinion
whatever about lifestyle. I do have a personal bias in that it seems to
me that the significant reduction in total power required for flight in
ground effect could be an asset in the initial development of flight.
                                        JimC