►图11 有关鸟类翼指同源的几种假说。这些不同假说对于恐龙手部手指退化过程、涉及的发育机制以及最终鸟类手指的同源判断都有所不同，其中一个很重要原因在于它们主要依赖的信息来自不同学科。
在恐龙-鸟类转化过程中，虽然有一个明显的小型化过程，但是总体而言，对于体型大小变化如何影响形态和生理等方面的变化，我们还知之甚少。许多学者都注意到，一些形态和生理变化和动物体型大小是相关的，但这些变化的发生机理还没有答案。解释巨型恐龙到微型恐龙的体型变化，当然不需要从经典物理到量子物理那样颠覆性理论变化，但里面一定存在着很有意思的故事。
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