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Brougham and Brusatte (1) agree with us that Microraptor was an arboreal glider but disagree with the posture of our model's hind limbs (1). They offer no suggestion for an alternative, other than the implied parasagittal posture of a typical dromaeosaur, which we showed was aerodynamically and mechanically unlikely (2). They cast doubt on the sprawled (abducted) hind-limb posture of our reconstruction—a key feature—by claiming that dromaeosaurid hips have structures (antitrochanters and supracetabular crests) that prevent abduction and that our specimen was too flattened to see such features. Whereas large dromaeosaurids may possess such structures, apparently, in small ones such as Microraptor, these structures are greatly …
1To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: dalexander{at}ku.edu.
Reply to Brougham and Brusatte: Overall anatomy confirms posture and flight model offers insight into the evolution of bird flight
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