Jules Poirier lectures in British Columbia

scott at home.com scott at home.com
Mon Sep 18 16:51:29 EDT 2000


In <8q44v4$g3b$1 at news.duke.edu>, mturner at snipthis.acpub.duke.edu (mel turner) writes:
>In article <amg39.REMOVETHIS-AAA43C.23363617092000 at newsstand.cit.cornell.edu>, 
>amg39.REMOVETHIS at cornell.edu.invalid wrote...
>>In article <39c58d4f_1 at news1.prserv.net>, scott at home.com wrote:
>>> In <amg39.REMOVETHIS-62773D.21591816092000 at newsstand.cit.cornell.edu>, 
>[snip]
>
>>> >> 14.Describe one insect that was transitional between a non-flying
>>> >> insect and a flying insect.
>>> >
>>> >A gliding insect.
>>> >
>>> Amazing!
>>> 
>>> So not only is flying a convergent feature,
>>> but so is the actual transition from gliding
>>> to flying.
>
>How do you get "convergence" from that? As far as we know, flight in 
>insects arose just once, in the early ancestors of the huge group 
>Pterygota. He's just saying that the origin of insect flight would 
>have involved a gliding intermediate stage [much as it would in the 
>three separate origins of vertebrate flight]. 
>
That's my point.

Four separate origins of flight, and all
arrived at by the exact same intermediate
stage.  Amazing.


Scott


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