Re: "Yale settles debate: Birds are dinosaurs"

[Ronald Orenstein <ornstn@rogers.com>]

At 02:00 PM 1/23/2004, TIMOTHY BRIDGEMAN wrote:
> It shouldn't matter if anyone calls the dromaeosaurids birds,since by modern
> classification,birds ARE dinosaurs.The common usage of the word "bird"could
> be applied to anything with such a covering of
> feathers,(Microraptor,Sinornithosaurus,oviraptorsaurs like Caudipteryx).I
> would never call someone's pet parakeet a dinosaur for the same reason I
> wouldn't refer to any other animal by the name of it's ancestors,"My what a
> cute theropod dinosaur descendant you have in that cage,what's it's name?"

I think the point is that some people in the birds-aren't-dinos camp are 
suggesting that birds and dromaeosaurs are part of a clade that is separate 
from the "true" dinosaurs and convergent with it - a quite different notion 
to the one you suggest.  Feduccia has certainly tipped his hat in that 
direction.


--
Ronald I. Orenstein                           Phone: (905) 820-7886
International Wildlife Coalition              Fax/Modem: (905) 569-0116
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