Selective factors in the evolution of insect wings: response to Kukalová-Peck

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Abstract
Kukalová-Peck (J. Kukalová-Peck. 1987. Can. J. Zool. 65: 2327–2345) has recently criticized the hypothesis that selection for increased thermoregulatory capacity was important in the early evolution of wings from protowings. Here we argue that the current paleontological, embryological, and experimental evidence cannot be used to reject the thermoregulatory hypothesis. Experimental studies of aerodynamics and thermoregulation suggest that knowledge of the body size of ancestral pterygotes is crucial to evaluating the relative importance of aerodynamic and thermoregulatory factors in the evolution of flight.

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