Malcolmt Posted March 16, 2013 Share Posted March 16, 2013 Here is an article I ran across this morning in case you missed it. http://science.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/14/17303742-four-winged-birds-first-fossils-identified Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scylla Posted March 16, 2013 Share Posted March 16, 2013 I saw other news stories about this, but thanks for posting this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raistlin Posted March 16, 2013 Share Posted March 16, 2013 Am I the only one who reads this stuff and day dreams about being able to travel back in time and witness it? Of course being able to do so in a manner that would not affect the future. Thanks for the link by the way. What an amazing find. RobertSoutheast, MO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamalama Posted March 16, 2013 Share Posted March 16, 2013 The feathers look like they were painted onto the stone. Hope they have some more solid proof. -Dave __________________________________________________ Geologists on the whole are inconsistent drivers. When a roadcut presents itself, they tend to lurch and weave. To them, the roadcut is a portal, a fragment of a regional story, a proscenium arch that leads their imaginations into the earth and through the surrounding terrain. - John McPheeIf I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPheeCheck out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted March 16, 2013 Share Posted March 16, 2013 I think the leg feathers are real enough; it's some of the 'long-reach' conclusions that are not well supported by the evidence. "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raistlin Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 I think the leg feathers are real enough; it's some of the 'long-reach' conclusions that are not well supported by the evidence.I mean nothing by this other than to educate myself. But what do you mean by the long-reach conclusions not supporting evidence? I ask because you all know more about this than I do and I am not familiar with what to look for really. RobertSoutheast, MO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 They are concluding evolutionary relationships which are shear speculation, based on the premise that the presence of the integuments we call feathers prove descent. A platypus has hair, and you have hair, but to suggest a relationship by descent would be ludicrous, yes? "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raistlin Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 Ah okay, now I understand what you were getting at. Thanks for explaining it. RobertSoutheast, MO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolmt Posted March 17, 2013 Author Share Posted March 17, 2013 I had the same thought that the leg feathers almost looked painted on.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 Am I the only one who reads this stuff and day dreams about being able to travel back in time and witness it? Of course being able to do so in a manner that would not affect the future. Thanks for the link by the way. What an amazing find. How could you affect the future, when it has already happened "Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe" - Saint Augustine"Those who can not see past their own nose deserve our pity more than anything else." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 I'm already familiar with this stuff and follow it with interest, but I really find it's exaggerating and sensationalizing things to call this bird 4-winged. Well, on the other hand, at least it gets your attention. Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 Just because a limb has feathers on it doesn't make it a wing... The core architecture of what we call a bird prevents the legs from being held in such a way as to act as a wing. This particular quadruped body plan started with the limbs being arranged under the torso, in an erect orientation (for a big improvement in respiration when running), and the next big step was bipedalism, allowing the pectoral girdle to evolve away from load-bearing to become more flexible. At this point, a great deal of architecture would have to be reversed and redone to have the leg skeletature function as any sort of "wing". The idea just doesn't fly... "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DLB Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 WHAT WILL THAY FIND IN CHINA NEXT! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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