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Re: Reflections on Recent "Dromaeosaurs"

Jaime Headden wrote:

  I have reason to believe that *Utahraptor*, based on
a variety of bones from the same formation that all
yield dromaeosaurid characters pertaining to a
particularly large animal (elongate premaxilla,
T-shaped lachrymal, mediolaterally compressed pedal
and manal claws of very large size relative to
phalanges and limbs, tibia with astragalar facet
having a sub-rectangular outline, caudal vertebrae
with elongate post- and prezygapophyses and the
prezygapophyses longer than one preceeding centrum
[reconstructed?]) suggesting they belong to a single
taxon.

Yep, all these check out. The prezygapophyeal rods and chevron extensions are elongated, although I don't believe their full length is preserved. The subrectangular frontal elements (in dorsal view) might link _Utahraptor_ to _Dromaeosaurus_ (as suggested by Kirkland et al.).

It has not been suggested they all belong to a
single individual.


Too right!


  I feel the avian character of the coracoid and the
frontals being more "swollen" than in velociraptorines
like *Saurornitholestes*

How do you mean "swollen"? To me, the frontals of _Bambiraptor_ look identical to those of _Saurornitholestes_, at least in dorsal view. (Comparing Sues (1978) and Burnham et al. (2000).)


  I'll say my piece on *Adasaurus* in a different
post.


Ah!  This I'll look forward to.

Cheers

Tim



<<
|
`--+--*Achillobator giganticus*
   `--+--*Ozraptor subotaii*
      |?-*Variraptor mechinorum*
      `--+--*Dromaeosaurus albertensis*
         `--+--*Utahraptor ostrommaysi /
            |              ostrommaysorum*
            `--+--+--*Bambiraptor feinbergi /
      |  |               feinbergorum*
               |  |?-*Adasaurus mongoliensis*
               |  `--+--*Unenlagia comahuensis*
               |     |--*Rahonavis ostromi*
               |     `?-+--+--*Archaeopteryx
               |        |  |   lithographica*
               |        |  `--*Archaeopteryx
               |        |      bavarica?*
               |        `--Neornithes
               |?-*Sinornithosaurus millenii*
               `--+--*Deinonychus antirrhopus*
                  `--+--*Velociraptor mongoliensis*
                     `--*Saurornitholestes langstoni*
>>

  Note: Sinorn, Vel, and Bambi are radially
represented, caring for my ambiguity on they're
relationship. I changed "Aves" to "Neornithes", per
Mike Keesey's observation. Some other techincal
problems have been resolved (serial *A. bavarica,* *A.
lithographica,* and *Neornithes,* *Rahonavis,* and
*Unenlagia*) with doubt placed on the placement of
*Adasaurus* and *Variraptor.* Oddly enough, Buffetaut
and leLoeuff (1998) did not provide synapomorphies of
Vari and Dromaeosauridae, but some are apparent as
Mickey Mortimer noted in his character analysis last
month (this list).

=====
Jaime "James" A. Headden

"Come the path that leads us to our fortune."

Qilong---is temporarily out of service.
Check back soon.

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