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The question is, what survival benefit did a useless wing provide?

"Useless" wings don't provide any benefit. Then again, how do you know it was useless?

Perhaps if the question were a bit less Perry Masonish, you'd get more takers.

"Useless" wings don't provide any benefit. Then again, how do you know it was useless?

Well, unless I am mistaken, useful in the context of a discussion about natural selection would mean a new quality or characteristic of a physical organism that has arisen by means of random genetic "mistake" that, happily, aids in the individual's survival. When you can survive better, you can breed more, and thus your offspring will thrive, and the original mutation will be reinforced, improved, whatever.

How do I know it was useless? I guess I don't, but I bet I can come up with more arguments against its usefulness (for definition of "usefulness" please see above) than you can come up with a supposed benefit.

For instance, I don't imagine it could run as well as a non-mutated lizard with four normal legs. It would probably be more awkward, and thus more easily caught and eaten. What imagined benefit could it provide? Why would it survive better than normal lizards?

I don't know if the question is Perry Masonish or not -- I'm not sure what that means. I think it is a fair question, don't you? If no one can answer it, just say:

"You know, that's a good question. There is really no good answer according to the facts we have at the moment, but like many scientific "problems," future discoveries will undoubtedly clear that up."