different stance on gliding drepanosaurids

[Silvio Renesto <renesto@mailserver.unimi.it>]

Darren Naish wrote:

(concerning the pterosaur meeting in Touloluse)

Silvio Renesto <snip> seems to take a different stance on this issue
<gliding in drepanosaurids> than in Silvio's 2000 paper on _Megalancosaurus_ 

Well, only  *very* slight difference:  Like among ringtails and some
arboreal rodents, it may be envisaged that among drepanosaurids there were
both gliding and non gliding species aside each other, with very little if
ever, skeletal differences. Unscientific guess, I agree. 
To me the presence or absence of a opposable clawless toe in
Megalancosaurus (morphs?, species?) is not a sexual feature but may
beindicative of  different adaptations;  the first toe is quite similar to
that of gliding marsupials in which this latter is embedded in the patagium.
Far from me considering this as an evidence about gliding.... until a
patagium is found.
Anyway, to me, Hypuronector is a  **much** better candidate as a gliding
drepanosaurid than Megalancosaurus ;-)
All the best,
and my warmest congratulation to Darren  for the new Will D. Naish!!

                                        Silvio Renesto
-

"where did Taiji come from? It came from Wuji "   
                                        (Wang Zongyue)
Dr. Silvio Renesto
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra
Università degli Studi di Milano
via Mangiagalli 34
I 20133 Milano
Italy

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