Re: Maniraptora

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

--- Michael Lovejoy <michael@palaeoproductions.fsnet.co.uk> wrote:
> Can anyone point me in the direction of a half-way decent cladogram of the
> Maniraptora?
> 
> Regards,
> Michael Lovejoy

This one hasn't been updated for a couple of years, but it should still be
fairly accurate:
http://dinosauricon.com/taxa/coelurosauria.html

Some changes that should be made:

- _Troodontidae_ can now securely be placed in _Deinonychosauria_.

- _Sinornithosaurus_ and _Microraptor_ should probably be placed in
_Deinonychosauria_, closer to _Velociraptor_ et al. than _Troodontidae_ (i.e.,
in _Dromaeosauridae_ sensu lato).

- There's a glitch that makes an unnecessary line hang down past
_Eumaniraptora_, seemingly pointing at _Tyrannosauroidea_.

- _Tyrannosauroidea_ should *probably* go outside _Maniraptoriformes_, at a
node called _Tyrannoraptora_ (but this is not definite).

- _Deltadromeus_ is actually a ceratosaur(!)

- _Avimimidae_ appears to belong to _Oviraptorosauria_ sensu medio.

- _Megaraptor_ is not a coelurosaur, let alone a deinonychosaur.

- _Alvarezsauria_ should be placed as _Maniraptoriformes_ incertae sedis, per
Sereno's placement of them with _Ornithomimosauria_, and Holtz finding them as
basally rooted _Maniraptora_.

Other than those and perhaps a few more notes, I think it's still up-to-date.

=====
=====> T. Michael Keesey <http://dino.lm.com/contact>
=====> The Dinosauricon <http://dinosauricon.com>
=====> Instant Messenger <Ric Blayze>
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