Re: Ostrom Symposium: further information

["Mickey_Mortimer11" <Mickey_Mortimer11@email.msn.com>]

David Marjanovic wrote-

> > Check out the following webpage:
> > http://www.peabody.yale.edu/collections/vp/SPproc.html
> Norell, Clark & Makovicky: Phylogenetic relationships among coelurosaurian
> theropods

A character matrix!!!!!! WOOOO HOOOOO!!!!!
And by the AMNH team! With species for OTU's!
(I'm slightly pleased ;-) )

> Character 53 is
> "Dorsal process of quadrate single-headed (0) or with two distinct heads,
a
> lateral one contacting the squamosal and a medial one contacting the
prootic
> (1)."
(snip)
> What's going on here? Marya´nska and Osmólska have seen the fossils, too,
> and declare *Oviraptor* has state 1?!? Are the fossils so difficult to
> interpret? Or is that a series typo? ~:-|

Well, Maryanska and Osmolska didn't use any named taxa in their study, just
various cranial remains from uncrested species. They do mention that it is
impossible to tell in articulated skulls though.

> The authors are a bit more generous in recognizing a vertebra as a sacral
> than some list members.
>
> "111. Number of sacral vertebrae: 5 (0) or 6 (1), or 8 or more (2).
> Ordered."
>
> Apparently they lump 6 and 7 sacrals. All caenagnathoids, ornithomimosaurs
> and troodontids with known sacra as well as *Velociraptor*, *Rahonavis*
and
> *Shuvuuia* get "1", *Deinonychus* gets "0/1", *Sinornithosaurus*,
> *Saurornitholestes*, *Alxasaurus* (only coded segnosaur with known
sacrum),
> both tyrannosaurs (*Tyrannosaurus rex* and *Albertosaurus [sic]
libratus*),
> *Archaeopteryx* and *Caudipteryx* are coded "0", and *Confuciusornis* is
the
> only one with "2".

Hmm.  Confusing, as Velociraptor and Deinonychus have five sacrals (Norell
and Makovicky, 1997) and Confuciusornis has seven (Chiappe et al., 1999).
It would be less confusing if these papers weren't by the same authors.

Mickey Mortimer