RE: New review paper of tyrannosaur paleobiology in Science, with new phylogeny

["Richard W. Travsky" <rtravsky@uwyo.edu>]

On Thu, 16 Sep 2010, Jaime Headden wrote:
> ...
>
>   However, I think it is possible, if not likely, that some taxa can 
> have ontogenetically "juvenile" features while still being adult 
> (paedomorphism). When it comes to generally "juvenile" skeletal and 
> proportionate features in otherwise fundamentally "adult" skeletons that 
> exhibit various other "adult," proportional or ossification trends, one 
> may be permitted the ability to assume or propose a slight paedomorphic 
> trend. Note, for example, that *Xiongguanlong* has an enormously slender 
> and elongate skull, large rounded orbit, and extremely elongate 
> preorbital skull, and large skull relative to its body, but is 
> nonetheless not apparently a juvenile. There should be no constraint 
> that a juvenile morphology should suppress any and all conclusions 
> toward a more mature status, especially given the meagre study so far 
> produced for the taxa presented.

Couldn't some of this just be considered as individual variation?