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Re: Dicynodont-Theropod association



It appears to me from the figures that the "theropod" is really
something more similar to Postosuchus (a "rauisuchian") than to a
dinosaur.

The pointed deltopectoral crest and prominent olecranon resembles
Postosuchus. The fourth trochanter of the femur is poorly developed,
unlike most basal dinosaurs. There is an anterior-trochanter-like
structure, but something similar is also present in Poposaurus. The
fragmentary jaw as ilustrated, with a rostral breadening, also
resembles Postosuchus.

The authors say that the supratemporal fossa extending into the
frontal resembles dinosaurs more than rauisuchians, but such a
character state is also present in Postosuchus, according to photos in
Long and Murry (1995). The basisphenoid sinus the authors mention is
also present in some "rauisuchians", as Postosuchus (I cannot discuss
the other neurocranial characters by now). Even if the non-ilustrated
skull is dinosaurian, as said in the text, it seems to me that the
appendicular elements are not.