Re: Missing link feather fossils

[Dann Pigdon <dannj@alphalink.com.au>]

Janet m vandenburgh writes: 

> http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtmlview=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/earth/2008/02/20/scidino120.xml 
>
> Missing link feather fossils found in France By Roger Highfield, Science
> Editor Last Updated: 6:01pm GMT 20/02/2008 
>
> Primitive feathers that represent a key missing link in their evolution have
> been found, fossilised in 100-million-year-old amber from France...

Given that they date to about 50 millions years after Archie, isn't it also 
possible that these feathers are from a secondarily-flightless animal, and 
their 'intermediate form' is a result of a reversal to a more simplified 
structure? I wonder how they compare to the feathers of ratites. 

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Dann Pigdon
GIS / Archaeologist              http://geo_cities.com/dannsdinosaurs
Melbourne, Australia             http://heretichides.soffiles.com
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