Re: SERENO'S NEW DINOSAUR PAPER

["Thomas R. Holtz, Jr." <th81@umail.umd.edu>]

At 02:16 PM 7/1/97 -0400, Dinogeorge wrote:

><< Again, be not so hasty in assuming these particular taxa are the ones
> chosen.  The "anchor taxon" for Ornithopoda has not been explicitly named as
> of yet, and I personally would like to see _Iguanodon_ get its due (i.e.,
> Ornithopoda = _Triceratops_ > _Iguanodon_; Euornithopoda = _Hypsilphodon_ +
> _Iguanodon_; etc.). >>
>
>One major problem with using _Iguanodon_, much as I would like to see this
>done for historical reasons, is that the type species of the genus is based
>on teeth (holotype) and an extensive series of of possibly incorrectly
>referred isolated postcranial elements. Until the genus is redescribed in a
>modern context, we really don't know what _Iguanodon_ is, and we thus have no
>business using it to define major taxa.

Hmmm, perhaps using the type specimen of _I. bernissartensis_, even if it
should prove to come from another genus, might be a solution?  (Of course,
you lose the English connection, but what can you do?)

Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
Vertebrate Paleontologist     Webpage: http://www.geol.umd.edu
Dept. of Geology              Email:th81@umail.umd.edu
University of Maryland        Phone:301-405-4084
College Park, MD  20742       Fax:  301-314-9661