Re: Definitions

["T. Mike Keesey" <tmk@dinosauricon.com>]

On Sun, 23 Jul 2000 gmbra@cygnus.uwa.edu.au wrote:

> parasuchian
Same thing as phytosaurian.

> amphesbaenian
amphIsbaenian. "worm lizards".

> actinopterygian

Actinopterygii is the sister group to Sarcopterygii. It includes the
ray-finned, bony fish, while Sarcopterygii includes lungfish, coelacanths,
and tetrapods.
 
> synsacrum

I believe this is when the sacral vertebrae fuse to the ilium? Or is it
just when they fuse with each other? (I'm a lot more up on taxonomy than
anatomy ...)

> ornithuran

Belonging to Ornithurae. Gauthier defined it as all animals sharing more
recent ancestry with modern birds than with _Archaeopteryx_, but this is
unnecessarily divergent from the traditional usage. A better definition
would be (_Hesperornis_ + Neornithes).

> neornithine

Beloning to Neornithes, the crown clade containing the most recent common
ancestor of extant birds and all of its descendants. (Incidentally, I and
others prefer "neornithean", since "neornithine" looks like it should
refer to Neornithinae. I don't think there is a Neornithinae, but this
keeps it consistent with the vernacular forms of Enantiornithes
[enantiornithean] and Enantiornithinae [enantiornithine], both of which
are valid taxa. The usage of the terms enantiornithine/neornithine for
members of Enantiornithes/Neornithes is pretty prevalent, but potentially
confusing.)

> carinate birds

Birds belonging to Carinatae (_Ichthyornis_ + Neornithes).
 
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