Re: Feathered Dragons: Studies on the Transition from Dinosaurs to Birds

[Tetanurae@aol.com]

David Marjanovic wrote (concerning _Microraptor_ and _Archaeopteryx_):
<<I'm not [all for putting them up in the trees]. Evidence against a 
retroverted hallux in the latter, no evidence either way in the former, 
phalangeal 
proportions not impressive, no special adaptations like sprawling ability in 
either... apart from not too basal birds (Confuciusornithidae or probably 
*Sapeornis* onwards), I'd only put Scansoriopterygidae in the trees. (Their 
feet are 
pretty unequivocal, and their hands are hard to explain differently.)>>

I would think that, at least in the case of _Microraptor gui_, the fact that 
long feathers appeared on the legs all the way down to the distal metatarsus 
argues strongly in favor of arboreal habits for _Microraptor_.  Had _M. gui_ 
been terrestrial, I'd imagine the distal-most feathers would have been 
destroyed 
in the process of walking on the ground-- well, unless of course it was 
unguligrade instead of digitigrade like almost all other dinosaurs.

As for _Archaeopteryx_, at SVP03 Nick Longrich showed some photos of the 
counterpart of the Berlin specimen that showed long tibial feathers that seem 
to 
resemble those seen in _M. gui_.  I can't remember the distal extent of the 
feathers, but if I recall correctly, it was fairly similar to what's seen in 
_M. 
gui_.

Pete Buchholz
tetanurae@aol.com