Leg-Wing Cooperation in Baby Birds, Dinosaurs Is Key Transition in Origin of Flight
Thursday, April 21, 2016 - 14:30
in Paleontology & Archaeology
New research based on high-resolution x-ray movies reveals that despite having extremely underdeveloped muscles and wings, young birds acquire a mature flight stroke early in their development, initially relying heavily on their legs and wings to work in tandem to power the strenuous movement. The new study, published today in the journal PLOS ONE, is important for understanding the development of flight in modern birds and reconstructing its origins in extinct dinosaurs.