Re: Coelurosaurian Synapomorphies

["Nicholas Gardner" <ratites637@hotmail.com>]

--- Steven Mahon wrote:
I'm planning to do a better (much) Coelurosauria
analysis. But, I need the the synapomorphies for the
following clades:

--- Mickey wrote:
Then you better get searching through the literature.  Which clade a
character diagnoses is largely dependent on the specific analysis.  For
instance, an opisthopubic pelvis was found to be a maniraptoran synapomorphy
by Gauthier (1986), but in my analysis, it would be a synapomorphy of
Metornithes, Therizinosauroidea and deinonychosaurs more derived than
Ornitholestes.

---

The only problem facing Steven now is that he'll need help getting this 
literature.  Despite what some think, not everyone has a good library, in 
particular, mine local one does not carry any decent technical journals, 
mostly just the science themed popular mags.  I'm just grateful that the 
local campus for George Mason has a library that carries Science and Nature. 
 And Mickey is quite right, for the record.

HP Mahon, if you need any kind of help with your work (such as papers), 
please contact me off-list.

Another example would be how the arctometatarsus was originally a 
synapomorphy of Arctometatarsalia, but was later realized to be convergently 
developed in ornithomimids, troodontids, tyrannosaurids, and caenagnathids.  
And for a non-theropod example, one can cite how the former hypsilophodontid 
character of ossified caudal tendons are actually a more primitive 
character.

Nick Gardner

_________________________________________________________________
Get MSN 8 and enjoy automatic e-mail virus protection.   
http://join.msn.com/?page=features/virus