Re: Dalianraptor - a composite?

[Tim Williams <tijawi@gmail.com>]

Thomas <tyazbeck@comcast.net> wrote:


> > Does this mean that somewhere out there there is a specimen of a
> > small, non-avian theropod with its arms hacked off?
>
> -----
> Uhh, no, I was thinking of Archaeoraptor, which was a big scandal back in
> 2000.


Yes, I was thinking of "Archaeoraptor" too.  This was assembled from
broken pieces of different specimens.  Rowe et al. (2001; Nature 410:
539-540) is a nice review.


So if (and I stress *if*) _Dalianraptor_ is a composite as well, and
assembled from most of a _Jeholornis_ specimen plus the forelimbs of a
non-avian theropod, then at least one specimen was presumably broken
up in order to fashion this composite.  If the forelimbs don't belong
to the same animal as the rest of _Dalianraptor_, I'm curious from
what animal they actually came from.


I'm choosing my words carefully here; this issue is still playing out,
and I'm reluctant to use words like fake and forgery until we have all
the facts on the table.





Cheers

Tim