Re: Stromeroschus

[Jonkeria@aol.com]

In a message dated 4/1/99 9:02:34 AM Eastern Standard Time, ALDINO1@aol.com
writes:

<< I know, Spino and all the other Spinosaurids are supposed to be theropods
with
 crocodile type features (long snout, more teeth, etc.) or, as someone
recently
 put it, "dinosaurs trying to be crocodiles."  These "new" fossils, though,
 reveal quite the opposite to be true!  In an upcoming article (which probably
 won't be out for at least a year!), a combined group of theropod and fossil
 croc experts are going to prove that Spinosaurus and all other Spinosaurids
 are NOT DINOS at all, but a group of derived "crocs trying to be dinos."  In
 other words, all the old ideas about these animals are wrong!  The authors
 will say that dino-synapamorphies previously seen in Spinosaurids are either
 1) plesiamorphs also found in primitive archosaurs, or 2) wishful thinking,
as
 Spinosaurids have always been ASSUMED to be dinos.>>

This blatant misreporting is sickening, and I can see that once again someone
has been blinded by the evils of cladistics shown in the first few minutes of
said meeting. It is becoming increasingly obvious to all spinosaurologists
that the group is in fact a group of highly derived, amphibious lepisosteids,
better known as common gars (the new subfamily will be named
Suchomimosaurinae). Much like the fusion of the arm bones of pareiasaurs to
form the wings of birds, the skull bones of spinosaurs can be easily shown to
be the fused remnants of the gar skull bones. As for the theropod-like body,
well, there's a lot of convergence in theropods so there, that's explained.
Topic closed. Next week: Tyrannosaurs as giant, flightless hummingbirds (yes,
the "arms" are really legs!).

-Christian Kammerer