Re: Yonghesuchus, was Shuvosaurus

[David Marjanovic <david.marjanovic@gmx.at>]

> Once again here is the problem of one or two characters trying to
> "upset" a suite from head to toe (or whatever is present).

It's a bit more than "one or two characters". As you can see from the page 
numbers, the article is quite thick. It's true, unfortunately, that it 
doesn't include a phylogenetic analysis, but the proposed relationship of 
the other taxa is standard, so there's not much to defend here for the 
authors.

> The presence of pterygoid teeth reoccurs in Turfanosuchus.
> I don't know why. These
> things, like all characters, come and go.

Some don't seem to come again... but it isn't necessary to assume that this 
one is irreversible to reach the conclusion that it's the sistergroup of 
crown-group Archosauria.

> The broader perspective reveals this.

Does it? How many characters are there in your analysis? Have you found out 
how to order character states?

> The Proterochampsidae lies outside of whatever is left of the
> Archosauriformes. You'll find they nest in a continuum from Youngina -
> Choristodera - Proterochampsidae - Doswellia  - Parasuchia.

That's a very strange assemblage. Are you sure you've included all proposed 
apomorphies of Archosauriformes as characters in your analysis?

> Send a jpeg of Yonghesuchus.

There's only a line drawing and 3 photos of the skull + lower jaw from 
various views. The line drawing just shows the 2D shapes of the bones in 
lateral view, and my photocopy of the photos is too bad to scan.