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Re: Archaeopteryx and Parental Care
In a message dated 2/5/02 6:35:37 PM EST, ptnorton@msn.com writes:
<< I'm not clear on this, George. This sounds like a cursorial origin theory
to me. >>
No, the wings originated in an arboreal dino-bird. But arboreal animals do
become grounded from time to time. Once the wings develop a certain level of
flightworthiness, the dino-bird certainly can use them in running takeoffs
from the ground. This is better, I would think, than having to find a tree to
climb up. This is also something early pterosaurs and bats couldn't do,
because their wings involved the legs as well as the arms. And this may
account for the strong cursorial hind limbs that dino-birds bequeathed to
their theropod and avian descendants, the existence of which inspired the
cursorial theory of avian-flight origins.