From: zone65@bigpond.com Date: Mon Sep 8, 2003 1:12:18 PM Australia/Canberra To: John Conway <john@pterus.net> Subject: Re: Ave Maria
On Monday, September 8, 2003, at 12:57 PM, John Conway wrote:
Ranks like "class", "phylum" etc. have been abandoned by many (most?) palaenotologists (particularly those working on dinosaurs). Aves will probably never be given a new rank.
This does make me wonder why the term Aves is still even used by paleontologists... for that matter, why is 'bird' still used if they're dinosaurs? Where is the distinction, and why? Is 'bird' now just an informal term for feathery dinosaur? I imagine that birds cannot be an 'order' of Dinosauria if such rankings have been abandoned. Have zoologists also relinquished taxonomy ranks? Excuse my ignorance, I ask on behalf of the befuddled masses....
Peter M