[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index][Subject Index][Author Index]

Re: Is Euornithes preoccupied?


Tim,
Kurochkin called his taxon Euornithiformes, so that didn't really concern me much with respect to the question of preoccupation of Euornithes.
However, I must admit that I did shake my head when I saw this in Kurochkin (1996). Not only is it a poor choice of name, but he sinks Iberomesornithiformes and Cathayornithiformes as synonyms of this new name.
Seems even stranger that he names a new family Concornithidae (only family of his new order), which include Sinornis, Cathayornis, Concornis, among others. Seems to me that different pieces of this new family will probably be sunk into the synonymy of other enantiornithean families.

From: "Tim Williams" <twilliams_alpha@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: twilliams_alpha@hotmail.com
To: kinman@hotmail.com, dinosaur@usc.edu
Subject: Re: Is Euornithes preoccupied?
Date: Fri, 10 Nov 2000 14:48:22 CST

Ken Kinman wrote:

    Is Euornithes Sereno, 1998, not preoccupied by Euornithes Dementjev,
1940 (a group which apparently refers to a group of enantiornitheans)?


Dementjev cannot have named a clade within the Enantiornithes back in 1940,
since the Enantiornithes wasn't named until 1981.

More recently (1996), I've seen Kurochkin use the Euornithes as a clade
within the Enantiornithes. I also remember thinking what an utterly daft
idea it was. There's the etymological incongruity of having the "true
birds" as a subgroup of "opposite birds"!!??; (reminds me of putting the
Suchia inside the Pseudosuchia). Sereno uses the name Euornithes for the
_sister taxon_ to the Enantiornithes. As such, Sereno's Euornithes includes
modern birds (Neornithes), ichthyornithids, and hesperornithiforms, but not
Enantiornithes, confuciusornithids or _Archaeopteryx_.

Oviraptorosauria
Paraves
 Deinonychosauria
 Aves
   _Archaeopteryx_
   Ornithurae
     _Confuciusornis_
     Ornithothoraces
       Enantiornithes
       Euornithes


I would say that if Sereno provided a definition of the Euornithes, then it
would probably stand (from memory I can't recall the taxa in which
Euornithes was anchored by Sereno). In other words, Sereno's 1999 usage
(see above) would supplant Kurochkin's 1996 usage of the name Euornithes (as
a clade of enantiornithine birds). Although Kurochkin diagnosed the
Euornithes, he did not (AFAIK) provide a formal definition of the taxon.
Either way, Dementjev (1940) gets credit for the name Euornithes.

Confused?  Join the club.


Tim

------------------------------------------------------------

Dr Timothy J. Williams
USDA/ARS, Agronomy Hall
Iowa State University
Ames IA 50014

Phone: 515 294 9233
Fax:   515 294 3163

_________________________________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com.

Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at
http://profiles.msn.com.

_________________________________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com.

Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at http://profiles.msn.com.