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The modem works again ("the signal has not been
synchronous" or something), and I have got the latest 781 mails at once. The
overdue answers will follow. Heartfelt congratulations to HP Dinogeorge -- your
dinobirds are coming up, aren't they? -- and to some others, including my own
0.02 â worth* ;-) :
"An
interesting thing happened while testing the removal of Utahraptor
to increase resolution in the dromaeosaurid tree. In addition to
some minor restructuring of non-maniraptorans, the eumaniraptoran tree was
changed to support (cue drum roll) secondary flightlessness of
dromaeosaurids. The structure above Troodontidae was ((Yandangornis +
Pygostylia) (Archaeopteryx (Rahonavis (Unenlagia, Microraptor, Sinornithosaurus
(Bambiraptor + Dromaeosauridae sensu stricto)))))). In this case, all of
the above taxa besides Yandangornis and pygostylians are deinonychosaurs.
This has been suggested by Paul (for Archaeopteryx) and several others on the
list (for Rahonavis), and is quite an intriguing possibility." (Mickey Mortimer:
Details on Microraptor)
Unlike
Terry Pratchett, I'm glad to live in interesting times. =8-)
*I'm just publishing a paper in the Dinosaur
Society Quarterly Review which describes my opinions on the origin of birds,
among other things that I fail to find bird synapomorphies in Archaeopteryx.
More about that, if someone wishes, when it's published (should already have
happened, AFAIK).
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