RE: what IS a dino?

["Thomas R. Holtz, Jr." <tholtz@umd.edu>]

> From: owner-DINOSAUR@usc.edu [mailto:owner-DINOSAUR@usc.edu] 
> On Behalf Of Hammer
> Sent: Sunday, April 13, 2008 10:59 PM
> To: dinosaur@usc.edu
> Subject: re: what IS a dino?
> 
> Well, the paleo's on here will give you the best scoop, but 
> some things you might want to stress on your chart so that 
> the teens will get a couple of points right is:
> 
> 1) all dinosaurs were land-animals - therefore, the ancient 
> marine reptiles and
>      the flying reptiles are not dinos

AAARGHH!!  NO!  Stop it!  Kill!! This isn't the 1970s any more!!!

[sorry, but this old saw just bugs the hell out of me. Was okay in the old
days of paraphyletic dinosaurs; not so much now. Spend a good part of my
public outreach having to kill this one, so I react violently... :-0.]


Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
Email: tholtz@umd.edu   Phone: 301-405-4084
Office: Centreville 1216                        
Senior Lecturer, Vertebrate Paleontology
Dept. of Geology, University of Maryland
http://www.geol.umd.edu/~tholtz/
Fax: 301-314-9661               

Faculty Director, Earth, Life & Time Program, College Park Scholars
http://www.geol.umd.edu/~jmerck/eltsite/
Fax: 301-405-0796

Mailing Address:        Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
                        Department of Geology
                        Building 237, Room 1117
                        University of Maryland
                        College Park, MD 20742 USA