Popular replies (1)

Karl Pfeifer
University of Saskatchewan
What counts as a bird? If feathers are a sine qua non, then it's not inconceivable that some early featherless flying critters evolved into feathered flying critters, in which case their birdhood evolved after the capacity for flight. Note that I said "some". The evolution of birds might have taken several paths with different sequences from a common nonbird ancestor (and it obviously also makes a difference which nonbird ancestor is chosen as the common one).
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All replies (3)

Muhammad Umar
Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan
The conjecture that the first birds were flightless has been a topic of significant interest in paleontology and evolutionary biology. Here's a brief summary of the arguments and evidence related to this idea:
### Arguments for Flightless Ancestry:
1. **Fossil Evidence:**
- **Archaeopteryx**: Often cited as one of the earliest known birds, Archaeopteryx had features suggesting it was capable of some form of flight. However, some analyses propose it might have been more adapted to gliding or limited flight.
- **Early Avialans**: Other early bird-like dinosaurs, such as certain members of the group Avialae, show a mixture of traits, some of which may indicate a flightless lifestyle. For instance, *Anchiornis* and *Xiaotingia* had well-developed feathers but their flight capability remains debated.
2. **Evolutionary Pathways:**
- The transition from non-avian theropods (a group of bipedal dinosaurs) to birds involves a gradual acquisition of flight-related adaptations. It's plausible that early members of this lineage were not fully capable of powered flight but used their feathers for other purposes like insulation, display, or gliding.
3. **Functional Morphology:**
- The anatomy of early birds and their close relatives often includes features that are not solely associated with flight. These could suggest adaptations for other activities, such as running, climbing, or gliding.
### Arguments Against Flightless Ancestry:
1. **Flight Adaptations:**
- Discoveries of well-preserved fossils, such as *Microraptor*, show that some early bird-like dinosaurs had adaptations for aerial locomotion, indicating that flight, or at least aerial capability, evolved early in the avian lineage.
2. **Complexity of Flight Evolution:**
- The development of flight is a complex process that likely involved multiple stages. Some scientists argue that the presence of flight adaptations in many early birds suggests that flight capability was a driving force in their evolution.
### Synthesis and Current Understanding:
The current consensus in the scientific community tends to favor a model where early avians evolved from small, feathered theropods that gradually developed the ability to fly. This implies that while the very first birds may not have been capable of sustained powered flight, they likely possessed some form of aerial capability, whether through gliding or short bursts of flapping flight.
Thus, while it's not entirely accurate to say that the first birds were completely flightless, it's reasonable to suggest that the earliest members of the avian lineage were not adept fliers and that full-fledged powered flight evolved later in their evolutionary history.
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Andrew Paul McKenzie Pegman
University of Auckland
We can never know, but many present day birds here in New Zealand are flightless :)
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Karl Pfeifer
University of Saskatchewan
What counts as a bird? If feathers are a sine qua non, then it's not inconceivable that some early featherless flying critters evolved into feathered flying critters, in which case their birdhood evolved after the capacity for flight. Note that I said "some". The evolution of birds might have taken several paths with different sequences from a common nonbird ancestor (and it obviously also makes a difference which nonbird ancestor is chosen as the common one).
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Similar questions and discussions

How did the dinosaurs disappear? Will humans become extinct like dinosaurs?
Discussion
1 reply
  • Abbas KashaniAbbas Kashani
How did the dinosaurs disappear? Will humans become extinct like dinosaurs?
We all know that according to the opinions and the works that have been found in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico and the works that have been found in the cave-like holes in the Hanubian America, which is the region of Colombia and Argentina, and which are also shown in the form of a documentary film, 650 million years ago, that Dinosaurs lived either more or less due to the impact of a metallic and stone meteorite, which was about 15 km wide, and due to the impact of this meteorite and its impact on the earth's atmosphere, it became a meteorite and rain The meteorite in the earth's atmosphere has rapidly heated the earth's atmosphere and has confused and agitated the entire atmosphere of the earth and caused the warming of the earth's atmosphere and the inside of the earth, and as a result, the forests of tropical regions have suffered terrible fires, which has caused Dinosaurs escaped from tropical areas and fled to high areas, and then we see dinosaur fossils found in mountainous and high areas. And it seems that they died due to hunger and thirst.
And this issue is related to the current situation on the planet, because now humans are suffering from global warming and all countries are suffering from a lack of water resources, it can be related to the actions of humans themselves. ; Because humans themselves have become the basis for greenhouse gases in the earth's atmosphere by producing fossil and polluted gases, and like the same meteorite that killed the dinosaurs due to the warming of the earth's atmosphere; The dinosaurs escaped and went to the mountainous areas with good climate, but they died due to hunger, dehydration and thirst and disappeared. Humans are also affected by the phenomena of greenhouse gases and fossil energy and the burning of oil, diesel and derivatives, which have caused the destruction of the healthy atmosphere of the planet, and every year due to the intense heating of the sun, the solar activity increases every year. Slow and increasing greenhouse gases produced by humans; Whether it is the way of planting and harvesting in agriculture or in animal husbandry with the production of beef and veal, which produce the most greenhouse gases, and the production of smoke-emitting and polluting machines has destroyed the planet and maybe we Humans will be destroyed like dinosaurs, and it should be noted that the process that humans have taken for themselves in every country to increase greenhouse gases, especially industrialized countries such as the United States and China, which do not care about increasing greenhouse gases. They don't give, and now in our own country, like Iran and neighboring countries, they don't attach importance to the increase of this gas. The nature and atmosphere of the earth, the radiation of the sun, the long wave of the sun, and the warming of the earth are no joke with any country, and all human beings should know that the entire earth is in the same compartment, and no country can be exempted, and we are all dependent on each other. No matter where the forest fire is, it damages the entire planet. So the last word is, be careful, humans, like dinosaurs, don't disappear like dinosaurs because of ignorance and ignorance. If we reach the critical stages of global warming, then it will be too late and we will regret the past. And alas, it is of no use.

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