Re: feathers

["Allan Edels" <edels@email.msn.com>]

Earl:

    Your time frames need some adjustment.  The K/T boundary was around 65
million years.  _Archaeopteryx_ could probably fly (its feathers show the
asymetry of flight feathers) - although how well is debatable.  _A._ is from
150 million years ago.  We also have other birds such as _Confuciousornis_,
which are around 120 million years old.  This will cause some difficulty for
your theory.

    Allan Edels

-----Original Message-----
From: Earl Wood <candles@jps.net>
To: dinosaur <dinosaur@usc.edu>
Date: Sunday, May 17, 1998 3:27 PM
Subject: feathers


>     Hello , I  have been monitoring the list about feathers , and I
>would like some
>comment on the following to see if it is of any value.......
>     I think that perhaps a small dinosaur found a nitch as a predator
>of small fish......
>     That in that capacity it would develop hollow bones for flotation
>purposes......
>     Arms would evolve into longer appendages to aid in pushing for
>greater speed....
>     As perhaps the earth cooled prior to the K/T boundary the need for
>greater
>     insulation as well as more buoyancy was needed which brought about
>proto
>    feathers which were only a modification of the scales to a hollow
>tubule........
>     From there it would seem to me that the need for more speed and
>stronger arms
>    would lead to eventual flight as an aquatic bird.
>     As you comment please remember I'm an amateur
>     Thank You
>     Earl Wood
>     candles@jps.net
>
>
>