Re: Peculiar Femoral Feathers

["Aspidel" <aspidel@wanadoo.be>]

Considering this discussion, is it possible that this long-feathered dromie
was able to fly?
And when I look to the photo of the fossil, I wonder how long were the
feathers on the forelimbs (wings?)
If my interpretation is correct, the wing feathers were much longer than the
lenght of radius + manus.
(in case of W4TP, just reply off-list.)
Friendly - Luc J. "Aspidel" BAILLY.

From: "Williams, Tim" <TiJaWi@agron.iastate.edu>


> Waylon Rowley wrote:
>
> > When you imagine the hindlimb folding
> > up into the position seen in birds during flight, it
> > becomes apparent that the thigh feathers overlap the
> > shin and foot, smoothing this area out. Basically,
> > just covering the "landing gear". Might have made a
> > big difference aerodynamically in a flapping dino.
>
> As Jim said, a very interesting idea.  However, in the initial/incipient
> stages, these aerial forays would have been extremely brief (effectively a
> controlled or retarded descent, commonly known as "parachuting").  The
time
> that elapsed between (a) the animal launching itself into the air and (b)
> the animal positioning its hindlimbs for landing on terra firma, may
> probably have been minimal, and left little time (or need) for tucking the
> legs under the body.  As you said, the lift generating abilities of the
> plumage were undoubtedly extremely weak.
>
> >          Another thing that caught my eye about the
> > newest dromie (?) from liaoning is the length of its
> > legs. Could these be used for launching from a perch
> > rather than running? Hmmmmm.....
>
> Ahh, but are the two functions (launching and running) mutually exclusive?
> Also remember that, if basal dromaeosaurids are any guide (and I suspect
> that they are), then the ancestors of birds were probably not strong
runners
> (i.e. not highly cursorial).
>
> > I end this late night purge of ideas with an amusing
> > quote from John Ruben:
> > "How is an animal going to have flight feathers on its
> > thighs that are half the length of its tail? How could
> > it run or do anything with flight feathers sticking
> > out of the back side of its leg? It is borderline
> > ridiculous."
>
> I share Ruben's astonishment.  The sheer audacity of Natural Selection in
> putting pinnate feathers on the thighs of non-avian theropods!