Re: Protoavis?

[Ronald Orenstein <ornstn@inforamp.net>]

>>     They later go on to say "Comparison between the braincases of
>>_Troodon_ and _Protoavis_ does suggest that they are amazingly similar for
>>animals seperated by 160 Ma."
>        Kind of weird this is...
>    Jonathan R. Wagner

This is probably going to rank as Stupid Question of the Century, but:

Chatterjee has described, not just Protoavis, but what he claimed to be a
Triassic "ornithomimid" from, I think, the same area.  So we have two
creatures from the Triassic (if correctly identified) that appear to be far
too early to have the features they show.  So...

Is there the remotest chance that they or the beds they come from are
misdated, and are actually much later than the Triassic?  If they were,
say, late Jurassic or early Cretaceous instead of Triassic, we could all
breathe more easily, couldn't we?

Which probably goes to prove my total ignorance of the geology and/or
taphonomy of the site.

BTW, on a related matter, I would just like to put in that at the one SVP
meting I attended, in Toronto, I had lunch with Dr. Chatterjee and
(whatever else you say about him) found him to be a charming and very
likable gentleman brimming over with enthusiasm.
--
Ronald I. Orenstein                           Phone: (905) 820-7886
International Wildlife Coalition              Fax/Modem: (905) 569-0116
1825 Shady Creek Court                 
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada L5L 3W2          mailto:ornstn@inforamp.net