RE: K/T birds - a word to the wise.

["Williams, Tim" <TiJaWi@agron.iastate.edu>]

David Marjanovic wrote:

> Heptasteornis (Maastrichtian, Romania)

>Overlooked that one. Also not a bird, like its compatriots &
>-temporaries.

I would guess you're alluding to the material from Transylvania named
(or referred to) _Heptasteornis_, _Bradycneme_ or _Elopteryx_.  I would
keep on open mind regarding the status of this stuff; some of it may be
genuinely avian. 

>All known confuciusornithids, that is, *Confuciusornis sanctus*, *C.
>dui*, various probable synonyms of the former, *Changchengornis
>hengdaoziensis* and *Proornis coreae*, are Barrêmian. 

David, on what basis do you assign _Proornis_ to the
Confuciusornithidae?  Has the thing even been described yet?

Tommy Tyberg's list looks very comprehensive.  However, keep in mind
that quite a few of these genera are (a) not yet officially described;
(b) based on very fragmentary material which may not be diagnostic
(_Torotix_ - whatever you are - please step forward).  Also, a lot of
the taxa based on "birdy bits" from Eurasia may not qualify as good,
diagnosable genera.

The list also includes alvarezsaurids - in which case you might want to
include little _Parvicursor_.  

While on the topic of possibly-termitivorous alvarezsaurids, the
powerful mono-clawed forelimbs may be useful for slicing through bee
hives too, especially those hives built in rotting trees (such as by
modern _Trigona_).  This has been discussed elsewhere, so I won't
elaborate here.



Tim