BAKK. TAX. AND UNCINATES

["D.W.Naish" <dwn194@soton.ac.uk>]

Never can remember everything you want to say, can you?

It's interesting, and extremely topical, that Dr. Bakker also talked about the
priority of names. He said that rules of priority exist only up to family level,
and after that you can use what you like (obviously he ignores this with
Brontosaurus..). As you probably know, he thinks that Sauropoda is a stupid 
name and he uses Brontosauria instead. Yes, 'sauropod' is a silly name, but
everyone knows what it stands for! And how many people regularly stop to think
what it actually means anyway? 

Well everybody knows this (particularly if they read Earth..). But.... Bakker
also said that Theropoda is a silly name (meaning 'beast foot' - 'beast' being
tax. talk for 'mammal') and that the 'older' name - Megalosauria - is better 
and should be used instead. Obviously this is a direct contradiction of what he
says in Heresies: 'These meat eaters already enjoy a GOOD name, the theropods'
(my emphasis). I've long been misled by Bakker as when he says 'megalosaur' (as
he did, for example, in 'Bite of the Bronto') I've assumed he means 
Megalosaurus or one of its close relatives (including, according to some,
Torvosaurus (see Sereno et. al. on Afrovenator) and Edmarka). But if megalosaur
can serve as a synonym for theropod then - hell - what a mess!

UNCINATES

When we talk about uncinate processes we mean the up-pointing, hooked little
bones at the tops of ribs 3-6 (or thereabouts). No other part of skeletal
anatomy is commonly called just 'uncinate' (or am I wrong there?). As far as I
can tell, they are unique to the dromaeosaurid-availian clade.

I know exactly where to find the Deinonychus uncinate figured in Ostrom 1969 -
 I don't think he called it an uncinate because he wasn't sure what it was. 
I don't have the ref. on me now, though, and will send it tomorrow.

BRONTOSAURUS

The only reason some people say that 'Brontosaurus' is more evocative or
exciting than Apatosaurus is because they are more familiar with it. Think 
about the word 'Brontosaurus' and you will find that there is nothing
particularly catchy or exciting about it. 'Bronto' is as obscure and alien to
most of us as is 'Apato'. You can't make a good case that it's a better name,
and in fact, I'd blame the argument on generation gaps.  It's always been a 
lie that Brontosaurus is a more familiar name than Apatosaurus. OK, so it may
have been if you were into dinosaurs in the 50s and 60s, but we youngins have
grown up with the name Apatosaurus. Well I have anyway. Everyone growing up 
with dinosaurs today is fully aware that Apatosaurus is the 'right' name, thus
I believe that Brontosaurus will become as obsolete as is 'Dynamosaurus' or 
'Laelaps'.

"And as we walked home we could hear the leaves curling and turning brown on 
the trees and the birds deciding where to go for the winter. And the whole 
sound of summer packing its bags as it prepared.... to leave town.." - - 
    J. COCKER    'David's last summer'

"Imperial troops have entered the base - Imperial troops have ente -
ccccccccccccccccc [radio static]"
DARREN NAISH
dwn194@soton.ac.uk