Re: Senter 2006, Confuciusornis, and humeral mobility

[Tim Williams <tijawi@gmail.com>]

On Thu, Mar 24, 2011 at 2:54 PM, Habib, Michael <MHabib@chatham.edu> wrote:


> It might, because I've only done a very basic run of the calculations, but 
> it's really quite unlikely at this point.  There needs to be some pretty 
> serious additional factors in order for the lift
> coefficient to get where it needs to be for effective powered flight in an 
> animal the size of Confuciusornis.  Basically, it takes some special pleading 
> at this point to find a solution in which
> flapping with a wing that does not elevate above the dorsum does better than 
> an unpowered series.  Unless something pretty substantial (more so than 
> mobile primaries) comes along to
> change the picture, I would put my chips in with unpowered right now *if* the 
> shoulder mechanics reconstruction by Senter is accurate.


So is it possible that _Confuciusornis_'s pectoral anatomy simply
allowed the wings to be compactly folded against the body, and played
no role in the execution of a flight stroke?  The latter being
precluded by the inability of the wing to be elevated above the
dorsum.




Cheers

Tim