Re: Pterosaur feathers?

[John Conway <john_conway@mac.com>]

On Wednesday, September 4, 2002, at 04:11  AM, Dinogeorge@aol.com wrote:

> In a message dated 9/3/02 7:27:14 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
> john_conway@mac.com writes:
>
> << I'm waiting for a feathered sauropod! :-) >>
>
> And what do you think the scutes of titanosaurs and the dorsal 
> structures of
> diplodocids developed from?

How about scutes? Why assume they evolved scutes>feathers>scutes, when 
all you need is scutes>scutes. I don't pretend to know anything 
scale/scute homology, but I see nothing so far that makes sauropod 
spines any more "feathers" than iguana spines, or croc scutes.

We need a clarification.


John Conway, Palaeoartist

"All art is quite useless." - Oscar Wilde

Systematic ramblings: http://homepage.mac.com/john_conway/phylogenetic/
Palaeoart: http://homepage.mac.com/john_conway/