Re: *Microraptor* the biplane: published

[Tim Williams <twilliams_alpha@hotmail.com>]

Mike Keesey wrote:

> I think it's a good idea, since everyone says "dromaeosaur", anyway.
> The Dromaeosauridae would then be a subclade of that: the final common 
> ancestor of Dromaeosaurus albertensis and Velociraptor mongoliensis,
> plus all descendants (thereby most likely excluding microraptorians
> and unenlagiines).

I agree.  The beauty of Dromaeosauria is that it's hierarchially neutral, 
given that it doesn't end in -oidea, -idae, -inae, etc.  Thus, the name 
"Dromaeosauria" (like Microraptoria) is free to roam around Eumaniraptora 
without having to worry about staying more exclusive/inclusive than names of 
lower/higher 'rank' (unlike Dromaeosauridae, Unenlagiinae, etc).  That was 
the rationale behind Senter's choice of the name Microraptoria for another 
deinonychosaurian clade.

Cheers

Tim

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