Gliding and flapping flight: an alternative or continuity?статья
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Дата последнего поиска статьи во внешних источниках: 26 июня 2019 г.
Аннотация:The origin of flapping flight in animals is always the result of such profound transformations of the organism that, in every case, this process presents a significant problem for the reconstruction of an evolutionary scenario. The flight of mammals is no exception. The theory of the origin of bats from a gliding ancestor is well substantiated and acknowledged by the majority of researchers. Nevertheless, works that deny the very possibility of the flapping flight origin from gliding are still published. In this article, I consider the main arguments of the opponents of the gliding ancestor and propose justifications for the untenability of these objections. The following issues are considered: the role of food specialization in the formation of flight; the homology of the parts of the flying membrane; the inefficiency of flapping flight using “terminal” wings; and, finally, the fundamental possibility of flapping by a glider wing in terms of aerodynamics. An explanation is offered for the rarity of the use of gliding flight in birds and bats. Moreover, features of the locomotor apparatus of the most primitive bat Onychonycteris are discussed in comparison with modern representatives of the order, and morphological evidences is proposed for the leading role of flapping flight already at this archaic stage of invading the air.