Re: wing extensor placement on pterosaurs

[David Peters <davidrpeters@earthlink.net>]

On Jan 17, 2008, at 7:50 AM, John Conway wrote:

> David Peters wrote:
>
> > Still hanging out here in St. Louis waiting to see how anyone can  
> > get metacarpals I-III to move _above_ the wing finger extensor  
> > when they are clearly ventral to it in primitive pterosaurs, as  
> > demonstrated by Wellnhofer 1991. I think you can't get there from  
> > here.
>
> Wait a second Dave - unless I've missed your point - all I see  
> there is Wellnhofer drawing the fingers in that position - he  
> doesn't "demonstrate" it. Wellnhofer could be wrong (indeed, I  
> think he was wrong about this).

Excellent. There should be, and I think there are, a few fossil  
examples of wing fingers completely deployed. Can we look for and  
talk about those examples? Either on-list or off-. Your choice. I  
don't want to bore anybody with pterosaur trivia.


> > Also, no thoughts on Wellnhofer's reconstruction of  digits I-III  
> > torsioned 90 degrees anteriorly on the standard configuration  
> > metacarpals?
>
> I vote wrong on that too.

Here I agree with you. Chris Bennett follows Wellnhofer.

Thank you, John. This is reminding me of the American elections.  
There's another favorite candidate in every state.


> Cheers,
> John