If there was a kinesthetic sense for relative displacements between the
intercalated actinofibrils (there probably was), it would have served a
similar purpose. You can be pretty sure that pterosaurs had some sort of
similar response because in larger species, the distance from the brain to
the distal half of the wing is great enough that the brain doesn't have time
to directly manipulate the wing rapidly enough to directly compensate for
gust transients.
JimC
----- Original Message -----
From: "Guy Leahy" <xrciseguy@sbcglobal.net>
To: <dinosaur@usc.edu>
Sent: Friday, December 16, 2005 9:00 AM
Subject: Touch receptors in wings help bats fly
This is very cool... I wonder if pterosaurs might have
evolved something similar... :-)