Re: Coelurus a maniraptoran (for how long?)

["Mickey_Mortimer" <Mickey_Mortimer11@email.msn.com>]

David Marjanovic wrote-

> Depends on whether Dendroolithidae or some Elongatoolithidae
> (*Macroolithus*, whatever) are segnosaur eggs (both have been suggested).
If
> the former are, then it's difficult to put them inside Coelurosauria,
> IMHO... dendroolithid eggshell is dinosauroid-spherulitic, like that of
> sauropod and hadrosaur eggs, apparently it's the plesiomorphy.

Segnosaur eggs are dendroolithid, as shown by a recent abstract on embryonic
segnosaur parabasicranial morphology.  More on that later tonight....  I
don't see why eggshell morphology couldn't have reversed as easily as any
other morphological character, so I don't think this is a blow to their
status as coelurosaurians.

Mickey Mortimer