Re: Oz dromaeosaurs(Re: Megaraptor)

[pwillis@ozemail.com.au (Paul Willis)]

>> You are right in that the Australian dromaeosaur material is based solely
>> on teeth (over 30 teeth known from Dinosaur Cove and Flat Rocks in
>> Victoria)
><BIG SNIP>
>
>        What about the partial humerous from the Giralia ranges in
>Western Australia? Is it too fragmentary to be assigned to the
>dromaeosauridae with any confidence, or has it been completely
>discounted? I seem to remember that, if dromaeosaurian, it would
>have belonged to a 3 metre+ Deinonychus-sized individual.

Although John Long described this as being from an unknown theropod, some
people doubt that it is even dinosaur. As I understand it, it is a
particularly scrappy specimen (the apomorphic feature of most Australian
dinosaurs).

Cheers,

Paul


Dr Paul M.A. Willis
Consulting Vertebrate Palaeontologist
Quinkana Pty Ltd
pwillis@ozemail.com.au