Re: ORNITHOLESTES, TITANIS HANDS (again)

[fredericus ruhe <fredruhe@xs4all.nl>]

At 11:32 18-12-2001 +0000, you wrote:


>-- Phorusrhacoids: I checked the literature quickly this morning and it looks 
>like Nick was right to be sceptical: NO MANUAL CLAWS AT ALL for 
>_Titanis_. Nick is not the first to point this out, as I recall Ron
Orenstein also 
>expressing some scepticism in the past. Chandler's evidence for mobile clawed 
>fingers is, as previously pointed out, based on the proximal part of the major 
>digit (IIRC). Furthermore, so far as I can tell from other phorusrhacoids,
other 
>taxa don't sport claws. In fact, there are comments in the literature
(Patterson & 
>Kraglievich 1960) to the effect that no phorusrhacoid forelimb material is 
>known (this predates both the discovery of Chandler's material of _Titanis_
and 
>of _Aenigmavis_) and the complete wings you see on mounts of, e.g., 
>_Paraphysornis_, are largely hypothetical (like most phorusrhacoid taxa, 
>_Paraphysornis_ is actually based on tarsomets and other bits of the hindlimb 
>skeleton and pelvis). Wing material may be known for psilopterids but I was 
>unable to check this. _Aenigmavis_, if it is a phorusrhacoid, may or may not 
>have small alular/major digit unguals (perhaps Fred Ruhe can help?). 


>
>DARREN NAISH 
>PALAEOBIOLOGY RESEARCH GROUP
>School of Earth & Environmental Sciences
>UNIVERSITY OF PORTSMOUTH
>Burnaby Building
>Burnaby Road                           email: darren.naish@port.ac.uk
>Portsmouth UK                          tel (mobile): 0776 1372651     
>P01 3QL                                tel (office): 023 92842244
>                                       www.palaeobiology.co.uk
>

Hi Darren,

I have no wingmaterial listed for the Psilopteridae and I have listed
_Aenigmavis_ as a Idiornithidae, possibly a Phorusrhacidae. The digit
material known for this species is phalanx 1 digitus major, the digitus
minor and the digitus alulae. Peters lists no peculiar characters for these
elements. And as far as I can see from the photocopy picture, there are no
pecularities.

Hope it helps,

Fred