Re: Therizinosauroid apomorphies

["Timothy Williams" <twilliams_alpha@hotmail.com>]

George wrote:

> The name Segnosauria certainly has priority, if nothing else, and should 
> have
> been used for this clade instead of being unnecessarily preempted by the 
> new
> name Therizinosauria.

For what it's worth, I agree.  Segnosauria certainly has priority over 
Therizinosauria (but not Therizinosauroidea - not that the relevant ICZN 
rules seem to apply any more to cladistic phylogenies).  The name 
"Therizinosauroidea" has replaced "Segnosauria" in many recent phylogenies.  
I think we should reserve the taxon "Therizinosauroidea" for a more 
exclusive clade WITHIN the Segnosauria, e.g.

Segnosauria
 _Beipiaosaurus_
 Therizinosauroidea
   _Alxasaurus_
   Therizinosauridae
     _Therizinosaurus_
     Segnosaurinae
       _Segnosaurus_
       _Erlikosaurus_


Tim
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