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Hi folks.
I heard mention somewhere that someone once suggested
(references please?) that the stiffened tail of dromaeosaurids was an early
stage in the evolution of the pygostyle. As a result, I have a question:
does _Sinornithosaurus_ have such a tail? If he does (being a basal
deinonychosaur himself), then it may indeed be an ancestral pygostyle. On
the other hand, if he doesn't, then the stiffened tail was only a later
adaptation within the Deinonychosauria and cannot be a primitive
pygostyle. (Assuming, of course, that Deinonychosauria is monophyletic,
which I don't think anyone disputes.) So does he?
Also, do _Archaeopteryx_, _Rahonavis_ and _Unenlagia_ have
such a tail as well? (I don't think so, but...)
Thanks!
-Grant
--
Grant Harding High school student/amateur paleontologist granth@cyberus.ca Visit Grant Harding's Dinosaur Destination at http://www.cyberus.ca/~sharding/grant/ "I just flew in from Beipiao, and boy are my semi-lunate carpals tired." |