Re: Where to put *Scleromochlus*?

["Tim Williams" <twilliams_alpha@hotmail.com>]

David Marjanovic wrote:

> Now that pterosaurs have been moved away, *Scleromochlus taylori* finds
> itself in Dinosauromorpha...

Who put it there?

A recent study (Benton, 1999) places _Sceleromochlus_ as a basal archosaur 
outside of Ornithodira - it is a sister taxon to neither the Pterosauria or 
Dinosauria, but sister taxon to both.

Benton argues against Pterosauromorpha (_Scleromochlus_ + Pterosauria), 
arguing that the features uniting the two are not very convincing.

The ref:

Benton M.J. (1999). _Scleromochlus taylori_ and the origin of dinosaurs and 
pterosaurs.  Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B 354: 1423-1446.



------------------------------------------------------------

Timothy J. Williams

USDA/ARS Researcher
Agronomy Hall
Iowa State University
Ames IA 50014

Phone: 515 294 9233
Fax:   515 294 3163





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