Re: MORE BASAL ORNITHISCHIAN STUFF

[Tetanurae@aol.com]

Tim Williams wrote:
<<Actually, I like the idea of heterodontosaurs as basal 
 marginocephalians.  I've seen this brought up several times, and not 
 just on this list.  Does anybody have a reference for when this was 
 first proposed?>>

It was first proposed in a formal phylogeny by Maryanska and Osmolska 1984
(though in abstract frm), as well as Cooper 1985.  Maryanska and Osmolska
later changed their minds in their 1985 classification and moved
Heterodontosauridae to be the outgroup to Cerapoda (Ornithopods and
Marginocephalians together).

Santa Luca in his description of Heterodontosaurus tucki's postcrania
suggested that Heterodontosaurus wasn't an ornithopod, and suggested that
heterodontosaurids were basal to ceratopians.

Strangely enough, no North Americans have ever taken the idea that
Heterodontosaurs are basal marginocephalians seriously even though they have
had much access to the papers and could see the actual specimens if they wish.
Additionally, no North American has seriously discussed the idea that
heterodontosaurids are basal marginocephalians in any paper that I could find.

-------------------
Cooper, M R.  1985.  A revision of the ornithischian dinosaur Kangnasaurus
coetzeei Haughton, with a classification of the Ornithischia.  Annals of the
South African Museum 95(8):281-317.

Maryanska, T and Osmolska, H.  1984.  Phylogenetic classification of
ornithischian dinosaurs.  In: Abstracts of the 27th International Geological
Congress 1:286-287.  Nauka Press, Moscow.

Maryanska, T and Osmolska, H.  1985 (1986).  On ornithischian phylogeny.  Acta
Palaeontologica Polonica 30(3/4):137-150.

Santa Luca, A P.  1980.  The postcranial skeleton of Heterodontosaurus tucki
(Reptilia, Ornithischia) from the Stormberg of South Africa.  Annals of the
South African Museum 79(7):159-211.

Peter Buchholz
Tetanurae@aol.com

For me, it's: Paris, Milan, and Old Navy