Re: Re: labels are imaginary

["Nicholas J. Pharris" <pharrinj@PLU.edu>]

On Tue, 6 Feb 1996, th81 wrote:

> And no one (but Dinogeorge and Thulborn) wants to call traditionally
> nonavian dinosaurs members of "Aves".  Aves, Avialae, call it what you will:
> this clade is recognized as a distinct taxon WITHIN A MORE INCLUSIVE CLADE

Excuse me, but there is a middle position as well.  I include arctomets 
in the Aves, which is the sister group to the Archaeopterygiformes, which 
includes Archaeopterygidae and Dromaeosauridae.  All descendants of the last 
common ancestor of, say, _Gallus_ and _Archaeopteryx_ belong in the taxon 
Avialae.

Of course, I only do this because I believe arctomets to be more derived than 
_Archaeopteryx_.  We'll see.  Either interpretation (Archie closer to 
birds than arctomets or arctomets closer to birds than Archie) involves a 
greater degree of reversal and/or parallelism than I am totally 
comfortable with.

> 
> Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
> Vertebrate Paleontologist
> Dept. of Geology
> University of Maryland
> College Park, MD  20742
> Email:Thomas_R_HOLTZ@umail.umd.edu (th81)
> Fax: 301-314-9661
> Phone:301-405-4084
> 

Nick Pharris
Pacific Lutheran University
Tacoma, WA 98447
(206)535-8204
PharriNJ@PLU.edu

"If you can't convince them, confuse them." -- Harry S. Truman