jar writes:
Well, try ostrich and you might have more luck. It appears that the Ostrich and other similar birds are part of the "Ratite" with fossils going back to around 100 million years or more ago. The superorder Paleognathae also seems to have a long fossil history.
I've been poking around the net and some college databases for the last few hours and I can't find anything beyond ostriches and other large flightless birds are related by morphology and DNA analysis and that they apparently evolved into separate species from a common ancestor due to the split up of Gondwanaland.
The timing of the split according to biology is supported by the timing of the split of Gondwanaland according to geology. Another of the thousands of examples of how the natural sciences are mutually supportive.
So either I missed something, it is not present in the resources I have available, or the connection to the exact flyin' critter in the genealogy just isn't there or has not yet been discovered.
My personal bet is it just awaits discovery, but I have been known to have been wrong before and will freely admit it if shown to my satisfaction.
Read not to contradict and confute, not to believe and take for granted, not to find talk and discourse, but to weigh and consider - Francis Bacon
The more we understand particular things, the more we understand God - Spinoza
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