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RE: Last Dinosaur of 2011



About as skeptical as *Rubeosaurus* being a disctinct taxon from 
*Styracosaurus*? I think while it would be more favorable to include species in 
the nearest available and useful taxon that already exists for them, there is 
still a useful need to separate species as functional binomina (even if 
neontologists laugh at it) when plausible. Both *Rubeosaurus ovatus* and 
*Spinops sternbergorum* were recovered in phylogenetic positions either 
intermediate to or in polytmous arrangements to, *Styracosaurus,* 
*Centrosaurus*, et al. These analyses are based on weak me, so it's no wonder 
they show weak support for the nodes offered, but this doesn't raise the value 
of the taxa, regardless of which "generic" container they fall into. So, I 
wonder: Is that good enough?

Cheers,

  Jaime A. Headden
  The Bite Stuff (site v2)
  http://qilong.wordpress.com/

"Innocent, unbiased observation is a myth." --- P.B. Medawar (1969)


"Ever since man first left his cave and met a stranger with a
different language and a new way of looking at things, the human race
has had a dream: to kill him, so we don't have to learn his language or
his new way of looking at things." --- Zapp Brannigan (Beast With a Billion 
Backs)


----------------------------------------
> Date: Sat, 31 Dec 2011 12:55:14 +0000
> From: Michael.OSullivan@port.ac.uk
> To: qi_leong@hotmail.com; dinosaur@usc.edu
> Subject: Re: Last Dinosaur of 2011
>
> I'm still incredibly skeptical about the validity of Spinops as a
> distinct taxon from Centrosaurus.
>
>
>
>
>
> ---
>
> Michael O'Sullivan
>
> Palaeobiology Research Group
> Postgraduate Student
> School of Earth & Environmental Sciences
> Burnaby Building
> Burnaby Road
> Portsmouth
> PO1 3QL
>
> Email:michael.osullivan@port.ac.uk
> >>> Jaime Headden 31/12/11 9:16 AM >>>
>
> _Acta Palaeontologica Polonica_ released it's final issue of the year,
> right at the end of it. This issue contains one new dinosaurian taxon --
> an ornithischian -- and two discussions of other named dinosaurian taxa,
> one sauropod and one ornithischian.
>
> Farke et al. describe what is likely the official last dinosaur named
> for year 2011: *Spinops sternbergorum,* meaning that at least the date
> "2011" won't need to be changed to "2012". It also means that *Spinops
> sternbergorum* caps out the Year of the Ceratopsian and its plethora of
> new taxa. (Farke et al., pdf here:
> http://www.app.pan.pl/archive/published/app56/app20100121.pdf,
> supplemental info here:
> http://www.app.pan.pl/archive/published/SOM/app56-Farke_etal_SOM.pdf)
>
> Little mentioned, however, is the cranial osteology and ontogeny
> described for *Saurolophus angustirostris* by Phil Bell (pdf here:
> http://www.app.pan.pl/archive/published/app56/app20100061.pdf)
>
> And of course, Denver Fowler and Bob Sullivan provide new remains
> attributed to *Alamosaurus sanjuanensis* which project it at truly
> top-of-the-sauropod size. I remain skeptical over assigning material not
> only with ontogenetic differences of gross size and material composition
> from holotypes, especially holotypes base don juveniles (or teeth).
> However, the work itself substantiates a sauropodan-sized animal, and
> that's nothing to shake a brachiosaur at. (Pdf here:
> http://www.app.pan.pl/archive/published/app56/app20100105.pdf)
>
> Congrats for coming in at the end, and making it just barely before
> 2012. Hopefully more stuff can be produced before it all ends in May!
>
> Cheers,
>
> Jaime A. Headden
> The Bite Stuff (site v2)
> http://qilong.wordpress.com/
>
> "Innocent, unbiased observation is a myth." --- P.B. Medawar (1969)
>
>
> "Ever since man first left his cave and met a stranger with a
> different language and a new way of looking at things, the human race
> has had a dream: to kill him, so we don't have to learn his language or
> his new way of looking at things." --- Zapp Brannigan (Beast With a
> Billion Backs)
>
>
>