Re: Asian troodonts

[Dinogeorge <Dinogeorge@aol.com>]

In a message dated 98-03-04 01:18:16 EST, endocrin@opera.iinet.net.au writes:

<< Yes, I know (and agree wholeheartedly) that referring them to the Asian
 Saurornithoides makes infinitely more sense than referrring them to the
 North American Troodon. BUT, if they have, rightly or wrongly, been referred
 to T. in an appropriately authoritative journal, then surely a
 re-assignment, no matter how much more sensible it seems, must also be
 published in an appropriate manner before the first referral can be ignored.
 Has this been done? >>

Not as far as I know. However, I already have this revision slated for
_Mesozoic Meanderings_ #2 third edition, whenever that appears, in which the
species _Saurornithoides isfarensis_ and _Saurornithoides asiamericanus_ are
listed as new combinations. In the meantime, or until someone else cops to
this revision and publishes it, they should indeed remain in the genus
_Troodon_. By the way, the first appearance of the species _Troodon
asiamericanus_ in print was as _Pectinodon asiamericanus_ in a caption to a
photo of the type tooth in a Nessov paper of 1985. It was a _nomen nudum_
then, but I nevertheless referred it to _Saurornithoides_ in MM #2 first
printing (1991) as a new combination, as a _nomen nudum_. Such name changes
are by no means mandatory, and their acceptance or rejection is a matter for
individual workers' preference. Many will certainly continue to refer the
species to the genus _Troodon_, wherein they were originally formally
described. The reason the new species were created in the first place was
probably because Nessov kept finding those teeth everywhere and decided he
might as well give them a formal name instead of continuing to refer to them
as "those troodon-like teeth from Isfar and therabouts," etc. Until we find a
bona fide _Saurornithoides_ skeleton in North America, or a similar _Troodon_
skeleton in Asia, I think we should endeavor to keep the genera on separate
continents.