Re: Most popular/common dinosaur misconceptions

["Jaime A. Headden" <qilongia@yahoo.com>]

Mickey Mortimer (mickey_mortimer111@msn.com) sarcastically shows us that
"dinosaur" and "coelurosaurian theropods or animals LIKE them" mean the same
thing to him:

<10. Spinosaurus is not obviously the longest fairly complete named theropod.
 11. Megaraptor is a dromaeosaurid.
 12. Morrison allosaurids came in two morphs- long- and short-snouted.
 13. Deltadromeus is closely related to Dryptosaurus.
 14. Enigmosauria isn't a valid taxon.>

  These are hardly "the most popular/common dinosaur misconceptions." 

  The first is usually modified with "largest," not "longest," which do not
mean the same thing. 

  Megaraptor's status as a non-dromaeosaurid has been in print in one tiny
paper, while the osteological proof for the claw NOT being on the foot has not
been published (that said, while I find it highly unlikely given the specimen
material I have seen, there is no proof the claw WASN'T on the foot, just that
the hand bears a claw identical to the holotype's, thus an inference can be
made). Most kids won't hear of this for quite some time.

  Yes, based on an anomalous skull and what could be Madsen's erroneously
drafted plates, *Allosaurus*'s skull is probably not what it seems to look like
in all the dino books. Whether there is a consistent skull morphology or
several in different species has not been yested in print.

  Internet phylogenies and a few oddities placing Delta with Drypto but outside
of tyrannos, then later placing Drypto with tyrannos begs for a logical "shift"
to move them both in. Like 10 year olds read the technical papers to fact check
the websites.

  Mickey's most popular misconception, based on wishful thinking. You CAN name
a taxon in a figure, as long as it's in the CAPTION and is diagnosed on a
first-run basis. Unfortunately, this only holds for things like families,
genera and species, according to the ICZN, and internet diagnoses and private
conversations do not count as diagnoses for names that appear in pictures. Even
the authors have stated this is not valid.

  Cheers,

Jaime A. Headden
http://bitestuff.blogspot.com/

"Innocent, unbiased observation is a myth." --- P.B. Medawar (1969)

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