Re: Dinosaurs Lived with Protoratites and Primates

[David Marjanovic <david.marjanovic@gmx.at>]

> We infer flight to
>  have been lost among ratites multiple times in temporally close
>  association with the CretaceousÃïï Tertiary extinction event.

Fascinating. Utterly fascinating.

>  instead of calibrating the time- course of evolution with a scanty
>  fossil record, the geographical boundaries of the main molecular
>  clades of primates are calibrated here with radiometrically dated
>  tectonic events.

Stupid. Utterly stupid.
And a failure of peer review.

>  This indicates that primates originated when a
>  globally widespread ancestor (early Archonta) differentiated into a
>  northern group (Plesiadapiformes, extinct), a southern group
>  (Primates), and two south-east Asian groups (Dermoptera and
>  Scandentia). The division occurred with the breakup of Pangea in the
>  Early Jurassic and the opening of the central Atlantic (~185 Ma).

Yeah, riiiiiight.

What next? A Cryogenian origin for crown-group rabbits?