Comment on "A Well-Preserved Archaeopteryx Specimen with Theropod Features"

doi:10.1126/science.1130800

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Comment on "A Well-Preserved Archaeopteryx Specimen with Theropod Features"

Ian J. Corfe¹^,2^* and Richard J. Butler³

On the basis of new information from the 10th specimen of Archaeopteryx,Mayr et al. (Reports, 2 December 2005, p. 1483) suggested thatbirds, or avian flight, originated twice. We investigate thestatistical support for this phylogenetic hypothesis and showthat it is no better supported by available morphological characterdata than the hypothesis of a single avian origin.

¹ Department of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Wills Memorial Building, Queens Road, Bristol, BS8 1RJ, UK.
² Department of Zoology, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD, UK.
³ Department of Palaeontology, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD, UK.

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: ian.corfe{at}bristol.ac.uk

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TECHNICAL COMMENTS Response to Comment on "A Well-Preserved Archaeopteryx Specimen with Theropod Features": Gerald Mayr and D. Stefan Peters (1 September 2006)
Science 313 (5791), 1238c. [DOI: 10.1126/science.1130964]
| Abstract » | Full Text » | PDF »

REPORTS A Well-Preserved Archaeopteryx Specimen with Theropod Features: Gerald Mayr, Burkhard Pohl, and D. Stefan Peters (2 December 2005)
Science 310 (5753), 1483. [DOI: 10.1126/science.1120331]
| Abstract » | Full Text » | PDF » | Supporting Online Material »