Downy duo

["John R. Hutchinson" <jrhutch@socrates.berkeley.edu>]

>At 05:56 PM 6/22/98 -0700, Phillip Bigelow wrote:
>>Hopefully, Mark Norell will make a point of carefully noting if these
>beasts are
>>outside of Avialae.  If Norell drops the ball, rest assured that Tom will
>have
>>to answer that question tomorrow! :-)

I've seen the paper (nice color photos, no doubt that what we're looking at
are symmetrically-feathered, nonflying, nonavian maniraptorans).  It's
quite a good read.  Will be very interesting to see a longer description
published.  Strange (albeit smooshed) skulls.

Caudipteryx is placed within Avialae, basal to Archaeopteryx.  Caudipteryx
is not placed as an oviraptorosaur.  I believe that was the original,
phenetic impression to at least one person who saw the specimens, but a
closer look revealed otherwise.

Protarchaeopteryx is left in a eumaniraptoran trichotomy with
Dromaeosauridae [i.e. Deinonychosauria] + Avialae.

                        John R. Hutchinson
                 Department of Integrative Biology
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