Re: THERIZINOSAUROIDS (fwd)

[Tom Holtz <tholtz@geochange.er.usgs.gov>]

>> Bingo!  That's the place.  Hans Sues also presented a cladogram at last SVP
>> which also had an oviraptorosaurian clade,
>
>Has Sues, pray tell, done any published work on theropod phylogeny? If not does
>he plan to?

I'm sure he does, but I don't know where or when.

>> and I have found a similar
>> result with a new analysis.
>
>Will this be out in november too, Dr. Holtz?

This is one of my talks at SVP, yes.

>> However, almost all the similarities are in the skull, and if you just use >
>> postcranial material, therizinosauroid share derived characters with > >
>dromaeosaurids & birds!
>
>Gasp wheeze... wheeze...  cough splutter  ... The prospect of this discovery is
>too intense...

Just sit back & think about it:

Semilunate carpal, opisthopubic pelvis, proportionately shortened tibia &
metatarsals (relative to other theropods), and (possibly on
Nanshiungosaurus) transformed proximal caudals that may have allowed
therizinosauroid tails to do the old 90 degree deflection bit.

Of course, as I said above, the skulls are more similar to oviraptorosaurs.

                                
                 Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.                  Phone: 703-648-5280      
                 Vertebrate Paleontologist         Fax:    703-648-5420
tholtz@geochange.er.usgs.gov ------------>       th81@umail.umd.edu
U.S. Geological Survey          ------------->       University of Maryland
Branch of Paleontology & Stratigraphy ---->       Department of Geology
MS 970 National Center
Reston, VA  22092               ------------->        College Park, MD  20742
                                                          U.S.A.