GIVING CERATOSAURS THE BOOT

["D.W.Naish" <dwn194@soton.ac.uk>]

> I've never heard of a ceratosaur with ANY pubic foot to speak of.
>      Nick Pharris

A pubic foot in _Ceratosaurus nasicornis_ was reported as an impression in the
sediment surrounding the bone in the original description. Several skeletal
reconstructions accordingly give _Ceratosaurus_ a boot, therefore. 

Check out the '_Allosaurus_' figure in the Jacobs' 'Textbook' to see a rather
poor attempt at changing the original reconstruction of _Ceratosaurus_ into
something's it's not.

I think a New Year's resolution for this list might be to analyze and discuss
phylogenies of dinosaurian taxa other than theropods. Huh? But, first off.. what
are the chances that the Ceratosauria is paraphyletic. I know that, as an out-
group to the Tetanurae, it's well supported in several recent phylogenies, but
Bakker, Britt and others see a grading between ceratosaurids and megalosaurids.
Having read the _Edmarka_ paper (and Britt's _Torvosaurus_ monograph) I'm
confused - can derived ceratosaurs *really* just be converging on the anatomies
of megalosaurs and other tetanurans? A while back (while reporting on the Nov
2nd SVPC), John Hutchinson said that the possibility now exists that ceratosaurs
are carnosaurs.... so has anyone come up with a phylogeny that backs
Ceratosauria as paraphyletic.

AMAZING ARNIE-ISMS NO. 2

"You're fired"

DARREN NAISH