Re: Triassic mammal-like reptiles?

["T. Michael Keesey" <keesey@gmail.com>]

On 11/9/05, Vorompatra@aol.com <Vorompatra@aol.com> wrote:
>
> TAFKAMR! The Animals Formerly Known As 'Mammal-like Reptiles'

hehe

> How 'bout "Reptile-like Mammals"?

I think I've seen this on the list before. Naturally, several problems:
1) They lacked reptilian synapomorphies; you could say "basal
amniote-like", but....
2) ... some were fairly derived themselves.
3) While Ax did suggest including them as mammals, his extension of
popular taxa to include all stem lineages has not proven popular at
all: nobody wants to call _Triceratops_ an avian, _Stagonolepis_ a
crocodylian, etc. The reverse solution, restraining popular taxa to
crown clades, has proven much more effective (although in some cases
still contentious, e.g., _Aves_).
--
Mike Keesey
The Dinosauricon: http://dino.lm.com
Parry & Carney: http://parryandcarney.com