Tawa hallae: everything you know about basal saurischians is wrong...

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

Okay, it is after 2 pm, so...

Introducing Tawa hallae:
http://www.sflorg.com/sciencenews/scn121009_02.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/dec/10/tawa-hallae-feathered-theropod
-mexico
http://chinleana.blogspot.com/2009/12/new-late-triassic-theropod-tawa-hallae
.html

Nesbitt, S. J., Smith, N. D., Irmis, R. B., Turner, A. H., Downs, A., and M.
A. Norell. 2009. A complete skeleton of a Late Triassic saurischian and the
early evolution of dinosaurs. Science 326:1530-1533.

By adding this new taxon--known from multiple nearly complete
skeletons--into their matrix, the authors find:

+--Silesauridae
`--Dinosauria
   |--Ornithischia
   `--Saurischia
      |--Sauropodomorpha
      `--Theropoda
         |--+--Staurikosaurus
         |  `--+--Chindesaurus
         |     `--Herrerasaurus
         `--+--Eoraptor
            `--+--Tawa
               `--Neotheropoda
                  |--+--"S." kayentakatae
                  |  `--Coelophysis
                  `--+--Liliensternus
                     `--+--Zupaysaurus
                        `--+--Cryolophosaurus
                           `--+--Averostra
                              `--Dilophosaurus

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/
Faculty Director, Science & Global Change Program, College Park Scholars
http://www.geol.umd.edu/sgc
Fax: 301-314-9843

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