RE: Archaeopteryx and Parental Care

["Williams, Tim" <TiJaWi@agron.iastate.edu>]

George Olshevsky wrote:

> When these arboreal 
>leapers and gliders were grounded, hind limbs alone carried them on the 
>ground and back up into trees; climbing-gliding forelimbs were useless
>in terrestrial locomotion. 

The behavior of non-human primates suggests that forelimbs can in fact be
readily used for both climbing/gliding and terrestrial locomotion.
Otherwise, fully bipedal primates would have sprung up in the Paleocene.


T. Mike Keesey asked:

>When did prolacertiforms become dinosaurs?? 

Well, we're still waiting for supporting evidence from the fossil record.
I'm sure it's just around the corner though...




Tim


------------------------------------------------------------ 

Timothy J. Williams 

USDA/ARS Researcher 
Agronomy Hall 
Iowa State University 
Ames IA 50014 

Phone: 515 294 9233 
Fax:   515 294 3163