Comment on "Narrow primary feather rachises in Confuciusornis and Archaeopteryx suggest poor flight ability"

Nudds and Dyke (Reports, 14 May 2010, p. 887) reported that the primary features of the early birds Archaeopteryx and Confuciusornis were too weak to power flight. This conclusion is not supported because the authors overestimated the mass of the subjects and understated the strength of the primary...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inScience (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 330; no. 6002; pp. 320; author reply 320 - 320
Main Author Paul, Gregory S
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States The American Association for the Advancement of Science 15.10.2010
Subjects
Anatomy & physiology
Animals
Biomechanical Phenomena
Birds
Birds - anatomy & histology
Birds - physiology
Body Weight
Feathers - anatomy & histology
Flight, Animal
Fossils
Paleobiology
Prehistoric era
Wings, Animal - anatomy & histology
Wings, Animal - physiology
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Summary:Nudds and Dyke (Reports, 14 May 2010, p. 887) reported that the primary features of the early birds Archaeopteryx and Confuciusornis were too weak to power flight. This conclusion is not supported because the authors overestimated the mass of the subjects and understated the strength of the primary shafts in at least one example. The total biology of the birds indicates that they could achieve flapping flight.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-3
content type line 23
ObjectType-Commentary-1
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.1193223