Ducks present and past (was Re: ARE ORNITHOPODS BORING?)

["Tim Williams" <twilliams_alpha@hotmail.com>]

Brent Jones wrote:

> >>> "Tim Williams" <twilliams_alpha@hotmail.com> 02/14/01 04:14PM >>>
> >Now, if someone can explain to me why Donald Duck walks out of the
> >shower with a towel wrapped around his waste, then proceeds to walk 
> around
> >in public with no pants on, then I'll die a happy man.
>
> Well, it could have to do with the oils on his feathers. You know, how 
> ducks keep water away from >their skin? If Donald has a speech impediment, 
> he may also have some other genetic defects, >including a misplaced gene in 
> the part of his DNA that codes for the production of oils to coat his 
> >feathers. If that were true, the feathers would still be good for 
> insulation - but not when wet! So, >stepping out of the shower, he has to 
> dry off as quickly as possible in order to stay warm and alive.

I never considered the physiological implications.  My question was more to 
address why such an ardent exhibitionist as Donald Duck feels the need for 
modesty when exiting a shower cubicle.

;-)

Anyway, while on the subject of ducks, I came across this paper:

Olson, S.L. (1999).  The anseriform relationships of Anatalavis Olson and 
Parris (Anseranatidae), with a new species from the lower Eocene London 
Clay.  Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology. 1999;  (89): 231-243.

Abstract:  "An associated partial skeleton, including the skull but lacking 
legs, from the lower Eocene London Clay of Essex, England, possesses derived 
characters of the coracoid and furcula that show it to belong to the 
Anseranatidae, which previously had no fossil record. Except for its much 
larger size, the humerus of this specimen is identical to that of Anatalavis 
rex (Shufeldt) from the late Cretaceous or early Paleocene of New Jersey. 
The Eocene specimen is described as a new species, Anatalavis oxfordi, and 
the genus Anatalavis is transferred from the form-family Graculavidae to a 
new subfamily, Anatalavinae, of the Anseranatidae.  Anatalavis is 
characterized by a very broad duck-like bill, a proportionately very short 
and robust humerus, and an anterior portion of the pelvis resembling that of 
ibises and other wading birds more than that of any known anseriform. Other 
features of its osteology are unique within the order."

As the abstract says, Storrs Olson believes _Anatalavis_ to be most closely 
related to the magpie goose among modern avians.  Olson and Parris (1987) 
previously reported _Anatalavis_ from New Jersey, as one of several species 
of birds from the Navesink and Hornerstown formations.  To anyone's 
knowledge have either of these formations been pinned down to either late 
Upper Cretaceous or early Paleocene?


Tim




------------------------------------------------------------

Timothy J. Williams

USDA/ARS Researcher
Agronomy Hall
Iowa State University
Ames IA 50014

Phone: 515 294 9233
Fax:   515 294 3163

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