From: ptnorton@msn.com
>Was there a gap in _Archaeopteryx's wing between the elbow and the body
wall? <
Graham Taylor published (1998?) a "pouncing protoavis" hypothesis of the
evolution of flapping flight within the cursorial theropods based in large
part on the belief that flight feathers (tertials) were absent between the
elbow and the torso of Archaeopteryx. If the absence of elongated tertials
in Archaeopteryx and others (such as Caudipteryx) is real and not simply an
artifact of preservation, it raises fascinating issues with respect to the
aerodynamic function of the prevolant arm/wing. This would suggest that the
earliest aerodynamic surfaces formed by feathers on the arms of theropods
were located distally and therefore much more likely to respond to
selection for thrusting and braking than for lift.
PTN