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Re: Scaly tyrannosaurs; fact or fiction?


Mickey,
But if I recall correctly, Tom Holtz (at least in an analysis earlier in 2000) found Compsognathids to be cladistically intermediate between Tyrannosaurs and Maniraptors.
When you say your analysis places tyrannosaurs just "below" compsognathids, I assume you mean the tyrannosaurs are cladistically intermediate between compsognathids and maniraptors. Right?
-----Ken
******************************************************** 
From: "Mickey_Mortimer" <Mickey_Mortimer@email.msn.com>
Reply-To: Mickey_Mortimer@email.msn.com
To: <dinosaur@usc.edu>
Subject: Re: Scaly tyrannosaurs; fact or fiction?
Date: Sun, 7 Jan 2001 11:54:29 -0800

David Marjanovic wrote-

> Of course. Tyrannosaurs are definitely closer to birds than (to)
> *Sinosauropteryx*, and if I'm right, they're even closer to birds than
(to)
> dromaeosaurs + *Archaeopteryx*...

This isn't nearly so certain as you think. Several analyses (Forster et al.
1998, Xu et al. 1999, my own :-) ) place tyrannosaurs just below
compsognathids in their analyses. As for tyrannosaurs being closer to
neornithines than dromaeosaurids, well it's fairly unique, I'll give you
that. Only Thulborn (1984) supported that as far as I know (even Paul
(1984, 1988)and Jackson agree dromaeosaurids are closer to birds).



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