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RE: Did pterosaurs feed by skimming?

I understand, but I will always associate "raptor" with the Dromeosauridae. You can blame growing up in the 90's (when the word began to be applied to dromeosaurids thanks to pop culture) for that. Now I may have no power to dictate to people (especially those who know way more about this stuff than me) how to use certain terminology, but I will tell you that when most people, especially of my generation, see or hear "raptor" in a context concerning Mesozoic life, the mental image created in their heads is a dromeosaurid, especially a dog- or person-sized one, and they're going to feel confused when they find out you're referring to a bird.

That said, I am sorry for railing this off-topic, and I won't pester anyone here with this again.

From: "Chris Glen" <s370548@student.uq.edu.au>
To: <trex_kid@hotmail.com>, <dinosaur@usc.edu>
Subject: RE: Did pterosaurs feed by skimming?
Date: Fri, 27 Jul 2007 02:16:01 +1000

I assume you realise it was the informal name for predatory birds
(particularly those with 'prey-grasping' feet) for a long time before it was
used informally for non-avian dinosaurs!

> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-DINOSAUR@usc.edu [mailto:owner-DINOSAUR@usc.edu]
> On Behalf Of Brandon Pilcher
> Sent: Friday, 27 July 2007 2:06 AM
> To: dinosaur@usc.edu
> Subject: Re: Did pterosaurs feed by skimming?
>
> BTW, yes, I know, you meant birds of prey by "raptors", but
> it is my opinion that, in the context of discussions about
> NON-avian Dinosauria, "raptor"
> should be informal for dromeosaurid. I hate it when people
> use that word for birds.
>
> >From: Brandon Pilcher <trex_kid@hotmail.com>
> >Reply-To: trex_kid@hotmail.com
> >To: dinosaur@usc.edu
> >Subject: Re: Did pterosaurs feed by skimming?
> >Date: Fri, 27 Jul 2007 00:00:32 +0800
> >
> >>The grasping ability of pterosaur
> >>feet, to my knowledge, is still understudied, but a cursory
> glance at
> >>their pedal morphology suggests their ability to grasp things,
> >>raptor-style, was limited.
> >
> >Dromeosaurids, to the best of my knowledge, used their feet for
> >locomotion like all non-avian theropods, not for holding
> prey like falconiforms.
> >
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