Re: feather tracts

[Waylon Rowley <whte_rbt_obj@yahoo.com>]

Someone with a LOT of time on their hands should count
how many rows of scutes cover the body of a
crocodilian, then compare that to the number of
feather tracts on a typical bird. when I look at a
crocodile tail with its dorsolaterally-oriented
flap-like scutes, I immediately think of the retrices
of primitive birds like Archaeopteryx. Maybe
Neotetanurans or even basal Coelurosaurs never lost
this scute arrangement, and it was used during the
evolution of flight as a rudder. Likewise, the arms of
many reptiles (not just crocodilians) have slightly
more elongated scales or scutes on their posterior
surface, exactly where you would find the primaries in
a bird. Just my 2 cents worth.

Cheers,
Waylon

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail
http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/