RE: Elaphrosaurus and Abelisaur Taxonomy

["Nicholas J. Pharris" <pharrinj@PLU.edu>]

On Fri, 3 May 1996, Se$or Jonathan R. Wagner wrote:

> Nick Pharris asked for ideas about the taxonomy of Elaphrosaurus and the
> Abelisaurs (and some other critters I hadn't even heard of);

Well, more or less.  I was actually asking about the *inter*relationships 
of abelisaurs, elaphrosaurs, alvarezsaurs, velocisaurs (_Velocisaurus 
unicus_, a complete ?left leg from Argentina), and noasaurs (_Noasaurus 
leali_, a fragmentary Argentine dromaeosaur-mimic).  This qestion, of 
course, preassumes, for the sake of argument, that all these groups form 
a single clade.  I, for one, believe they probably do (spineless neck 
vertebrae with correspondingly larger transverse processes seem to link 
them all, among other things).  I also think this group is related to the 
Ceratosauridae, and I believe this larger group to be closer to 
tetanurans than are coelophysids, although I can't put my finger on 
exactly why.

In evolutionary diagrams, I have usually seen these groups depicted as 
radiating out independently from a central hub.  My question was, has any 
work been done to determine the subgrouping of the Neoceratosauria (as I 
have mentioned before, a terrible mouthful; I much prefer Notosauria for 
this grouping)?

>      Oops, rambling again.

You're not the only one.

>      Jonathan R. Wagner

Nick Pharris
Pacific Lutheran University
Tacoma, WA 98447
(206)535-8206
PharriNJ@PLU.edu