Re: Archaeopteryx flight

[Jon Barber <augray@sympatico.ca>]

At 07:41 PM 10/19/2005 -0500, JimC wrote:
> I'd agree with Ian's assessment.  It appears to be specialized for 
> cruising flight -- which doesn't require the modern alignment for the 
> supracoracoideus muscle, doesn't require exceptional power on the 
> downstroke, and doesn't require a functional alula.  As I mentioned 
> previously, it is not designed for slow flight.  So, it could probably fly 
> reasonably well, but also probably launched and landed rather differently 
> than many modern birds.

I'm not entirely sure about this. How does one differentiate between 
adaptations for cruising flight, and adaptations for gliding?


> JimC

[snip]