Avian stem-group (was: BCF)

["T. Michael Keesey" <mightyodinn@yahoo.com>]

--- Dinogeorge@aol.com wrote:
> 
> I call the stem group birds Ornithes: the clade of all archosaurs closer to 
> modern birds than to modern crocs;

I think this clade may hold the record for the most names. It has been called
Dracones, Ornithosuchia, Avemetatarsalia, Ornithotarsi (I think incorrectly),
Ornithodira (incorrectly), Panaves, and now Ornithes! (Is that name published?
I like it, but for that clade I dunno....)

I am not sure which one to use for the next version of The Dinosauricon.

Dracones [Haeckel 1???] is a traditional taxon comprising Pterosauria,
Dinosauria (paraphyletic sense), and Aves. Great name, but not really available
for a site using phylogenetic taxonomy, and attempting to adhere to the draft
PhyloCode.

_Ornithosuchia_ Gauthier 1986 [? ????] has a loose phylogenetic definition
(does not adhere to PhyloCode recommendations, as it was made before the draft
PhyloCode): all archosaurs closer to avians than to crocodylians.
Unfortunately, it violates PhyloCode Rule 11.8, which mandates that a name
based on a genus (in this case _Ornithosuchus_) must use the type species of
that genus as an internal specifier. Unfortunately, by most modern phylogenies,
_Ornithosuchus_ is not an ornithosuchian! So this name is unacceptable. (As a
side note, wouldn't this be a great name for _Crocodylia_ + _Aves_? Too bad
that's already _Archosauria_. Or _Avesuchia_, if you follow Benton.)

_Avemetatarsalia_ Benton 1999. I'm not sure what exact definition was given. If
it was explicit, it could be a candidate.

_Ornithotarsi_ Gauthier 1986 was used for the crown group -- it excluded
_Lagosuchus_, which was thought to be more basal then _Pterosauria_ +
_Dinosauria_. Never explicitly defined, anyway, AFAIK. Not a candidate.

_Ornithodira_ Gauthier 1986. I must have that citation wrong, because that is,
AFAIK, the proper name for Clade(_Pterosauria_ + _Dinosauria_)
(?=Ornithotarsi). Also not a candidate.

_Panaves_ Gauthier and de Queiroz 2001 is quite explicitly defined: "the most
inclusive clade containing _Aves_ (_Vultur gryphus_ Linnaeus 1758) but not
_Crocodylia_ (_Crocodylus niloticus_ Laurenti 1768)." Very nice.

Ornithes. Has it been published? Defined?

Looks like _Avemetatarsalia_ or _Panaves_ so far.... Too bad; I would have
liked a Crocodylotarsi/Ornithotarsi dichotomy.

> and the crown group birds Aves: the clade of all modern birds, including 
> their most recent common ancestor and all its descendants. I guess others 
> might call this Neornithes.

Although I've been following the majority (I think) and using _Aves_ for
Clade(_Archaeopteryx lithographica_ + _Vultur gryphus_) so far, the crown clade
definition is starting to kind of appeal to me. Any thoughts from the DML?

=====
=====> T. Michael Keesey <keesey@bigfoot.com>
=====> The Dinosauricon <http://dinosauricon.com>
=====> BloodySteak <http://bloodysteak.com>
=====> Instant Messenger <Ric Blayze>
=====

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