Re: Pro(to)avis

[David Marjanovic <david.marjanovic@gmx.at>]

----- Original Message -----
From: "jrc" <jrccea@bellsouth.net>
Sent: Friday, September 16, 2005 6:56 PM

> I would suggest that animals that had only a tip fan on their tails could 
> be more likely than others to have hindlimb wings.  Animals that had a 
> full tail (Archie) could be more likely to omit or minimise the hindlimb 
> feathers.  It appears to me that the hindlimb feathers are likely derived 
> to support the weight of the legs and long tail in those animals that have 
> only tip fans, and that the tail carries that load in animals with full 
> tails, so that there is no selective pressure toward hindlimb wings in 
> full-tail animals.

This makes a major assumption on the orientation and/or mobility of the 
"hindwings"... the fossils are squished flat, deforming (and often breaking) 
even the bones, so we should be very careful with that.