Re: Opisthocoelicaudia (was Re: Titanosaurids)

[Dinogeorge@aol.com]

In a message dated 1/23/02 1:48:05 PM EST, TiJaWi@agron.iastate.edu writes:

<<  There's a lot of common features in the appendicular skeleton - don't get 
distracted by that weird tail.  >>

It's not just the tail, its the sacral vertebrae and the bifid dorsal 
vertebrae (unknown in titoanosaurs). Don't get distracted by the limbs! And 
if we're going to invoke homeobox genes in the formation of the tail, why not 
invoke them to explain all kinds of other character anomalies in cladograms 
as well? This would make morphological cladistic analysis pretty much 
worthless. (It might just be, but this gives it no chance: if any question 
about a morpho-cladogram is answered by invoking hidden genetic causes, then 
the science goes right out the window.)