Re: dinosaurs did eat grass

[Michael Mortimer <mickey_mortimer111@msn.com>]

Tim Williams wrote-

> _Cetiosauriscus stewarti_, from the Middle Jurassic of England, is possibly 
> a basal diplodocoid (sensu Wilson and Sereno, 1998).  Strictly speaking, 
> _Cetiosauriscus_ would not be a diplodocimorph (sensu Taylor and Naish, 
> 2005) given that it probably lies outside the clade anchored in 
> _Rebbachisaurus_ and _Diplodocus_.

Or possibly an omeisaurid (Rauhut et al., 2005), based on the only published 
phylogenetic analysis including it.  Not only are the earliest diplodocoids 
from the Tendaguru and Morrison, but also the Canadon Calcareo (Argentina) 
and Camadas de Alcobaca (Portugal) Formations.

> _Haplocanthosaurus_ is notoriously difficult to pin down in analyses.  It 
> usually hovers somewhere near the Macronaria-Diplodocoidea split, but as to 
> exactly where it sits... _Haplocanthosaurus_ is keeping its cards close to 
> its chest.  If the braincase named _Morosaurus agilis_ belongs to 
> _Halpocanthosaurus_, it might help the situation.

Morosaurus agilis is a junior synonym of Diplodocus longus (Tidwell et al., 
2005).

Mickey Mortimer