Re: Relatively New Refs (long)

["David Marjanovic" <david.marjanovic@gmx.at>]

> << Pneumatic fossae and foramina are found on neural arches throughout
>  Archosauria, and maybe beyond. >>
>
> Well, now, isn't this nice? In my dino/archo phylogeny, skeletal
pneumaticity
> is primitive to Dinosauria (not just "Saurischia"; secondarily lost in
some
> prosauropods and all ornithischians, supporting close relationship between
> prosauropods and ornithischians)

There is a prosauropod that has some pneumatic vertebrae, IIRC. Just forgot
which one. :-]

> and is a feature consistent with the
> lifestyles of small, arboreal reptiles. Since such animals include the
common
> ancestor of Archosauria,

Arboreal?

> one would expect to find crocs with pneumaticized
> skeletons somewhere in their early fossil record (pneumaticization would
be
> lost in aquatic lifestyles because it would make the skeleton too buoyant,
> which is likely why it didn't occur in later crocs).

That's what Gower says, too.