Re: New PaleoBios paper - diplodocoid phylogenetic taxonomy

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

> All those names for basal avialan and non-neornithine clades confuse
> the bejesus out of me:

Calm down. Some of them have only one definition! :^)

> Ornithuromorpha,

Two:
- Node-based, Neornithes(*) + *Patagopteryx* (which probably means that 
*Vorona* is outside -- when that definition was published, it was in a 
trichotomy with *Patagopteryx* and the rest of Euornithes).
- Node-based, Neornithes + *Patagopteryx* + *Vorona*. Same known contents 
as Euornithes.

(*) Or some member thereof. I'm typing off the top of my head.

> Ornithothoraces,

One:
Node-based, *Iberomesornis* + Neornithes. Since *I.* has turned out to 
belong to Enantiornithes, Ornithothoraces forms a node-stem triplet with 
Enantiornithes and Euornithes.

> Pygostylia,

One, IIRC:
Node-based, *Confuciusornis* + Neornithes.

> Ambiortimorphae,

AFAIK not defined.

> Carinatae,

At least two:
- Node-based: *Ichthyornis* + Neornithes.
- Apomorphy-based: keel on sternum in all members of the population (so 
*Confuciusornis* is just outside).

> Euornithes,

Kurochkin used Euornithiformes, not Euornithes, so let's stick with Sereno 
(1998 -- not 1999), who (this time) made a really good decision:
Stem-based: Neornithes inside, *Sinornis santensis* outside.
Of course he could have used *Enantiornis* instead of *Sinornis*, but 
currently this doesn't make any practical difference.

> Enantiornithes,

IIRC only defined by Sereno (1998), as the mirror image of Euornithes.

> Euenantiornithes...

Stem-based: *Sinornis santensis* inside, *Iberomesornis romerali* outside.

Am I waiting for the enantiornithine phylogeny that will be presented at 
this year's SVP meeting, where I won't be...

It's good you didn't mention Ornithurae. That name is real horror, with 5 
definitions or suchlike.

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