Re: arms into wings

["KEVIN HEDGPETH" <brontotherium@hotmail.com>]

>Tom Holtz said:
>
><The "chasing a dragonfly" model is about as dead as _Archaeopteryx_.  
No   
>one I know of considers that a likely life habit: heck, even Ostrom was   
>only
>partly serious when proposing it.>
>
>I never bought the insect chasing model either, and I've said as much   
>before on this list. I merely used it to illustrate a point. Substitute   
>more substantial prey if you prefer, but the point still holds; that 
once   
>selection for aerodynamic performance began it must have compromised 
the   
>previous function of the arm and hand, which presumably was prey 
capture.


In order for this animal to be "aerodynamically challenged" in the use 
of arms/hand to capture prey, we assume that it must have been in some 
sort of "high-speed" chase mode.  It seems possible that this creature 
would change its hunting modus operandi to avoid this difficulty.  How 
about lurking about in the foliage and lunging after smaller critters as 
they wander past?  

Outside of the birds of prey, many of our other avian friends use non-
flight-related methods to find prey:  grubbing on the ground, foraging 
in trees, eating carrion.  

As group/species "evolves", won't its survival methods "evolve" in turn?

--Kevin Hedgpeth

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