Abstract
HEPTONSTALL1 has applied certain formulae given by Pennycuick2 to demonstrate that the wing bones of Archaeopteryx were strong enough to support the bird in flapping flight. I have approached3 this problem by using some of Pennycuick's other work4. Basically, my estimates3 of the probable flying speed and also the wing loading for Archaeopteryx of approximately7 m/s and 0.4 g/cm2 respectively, depend, like the estimates of torsion derived by Heptonstall1, on the estimation of the weight and wing area of Archaeopteryx.
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References
Heptonstall, W. B., Nature, 228, 185 (1970).
Pennycuick, C., J. Exp. Biol., 46, 219 (1967).
Yalden, D. W., Ibis (in the press).
Pennycuick, C., Ibis, 111, 525 (1969).
Jerison, H. J., Nature, 219, 1381 (1968).
Greenwelt, C. H., Smithson. Misc. Collns, 144, 1 (1962).
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YALDEN, D. Flying Ability of Archaeopteryx. Nature 231, 127–128 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1038/231127a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/231127a0
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