Re: Re: Cladistic Clarification

[Thomas_R_HOLTZ@umail.umd.edu (th81)]

>> Sauropsida is the clade of all taxa closer to Reptilia than to Mammalia.
>
>What is included in the Sauropsida that is not in the Reptilia?  I was 
>hoping we could just synonymize the two and be done with Reptilia once 
>and for all.

Mesosaurs, for one.  Perhaps some more of the creepy crawlies of the late
Paleozoic.

As Gauthier and de Queiroz have shown, there are advantages to have both a
node (Reptilia) and stem (Sauroposida) based name for large clades.

As you know, in the sister taxon, there are many known synapsids which are
not mammals.

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