Re: Giant birds

[NJPharris@aol.com]

In a message dated 4/30/01 4:36:18 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
Jean-Michel.BENOIT@gemplus.com writes:

> Dear DML listmembers, I'd like to know a couple of things : are the early
>  tertiary "thunder-birds" ( eg *phororhaschus* ) 

_Phorusrhacus_.  Formerly known as _Phororhacus_ (If I had my way, it still 
would be.  The latter is etymologically better as well as easier to say.)  I 
can't seem to figure out what it means.  My Greek dictionary gives me weird 
translations like "ragged tribute".


> related to ratites?

No (except in that they are all birds).  It appears that these were giant 
relatives of the extant South American seriemas.


>  And
>  when did the ratites branch off from the original bird lineage? 

They are apparently the basalmost living birds, but they branched off after 
the hesperornithiforms and ichthyornithiforms (and thus also after 
Enantiornithes, confuciusornithids, _Archaeopteryx_, etc.).


>  Is there
>  any tree showing the relationships between these birds,the ratites  and
>  the theropods?

Not sure what you're asking.  Ratites are no more closely related to non-bird 
theropods than other birds are.  To put it another way, all living birds 
(including ratites) are more closely related to each other than they are to 
any non-bird theropod.

--Nick P.