Re: Jurrasic Park

[Scott A Hartman <ottscay@uwyo.edu>]

> Randy,
Velociraptor almost certainly had a feather-like or fur-like
> insulatory covering.

Says who? <<<

Ok, the nature paper on Caudipteryx and protarchaeopteryx demonstrated
that both dinos had honest to goodness barbed feathers.
Protoarchaeopteryx was left in an unresolved trichotomy with velociraptor
and the group composed of caudipteryx + avialae.  As Padian mentions in
his perspective article (same issue), adding other coelurosaurs to the
matrix should help resolve the relationships of protarchaeopteryx and
velociraptor.  In fact, I'm planning on running it through PAUP after SVP.
If dromeosaurs end up closer to birds, then phylogenetic bracketing
suggests that dromeosaurs had true feathers.  If not, it's a moot point,
because sinosauropteryx is far more basal than velociraptor.  So either
way, you get a phylogenetically bracketed velociraptor whose relatives are
known to have had insulatory structures.
    I suppose you could maintain that sinosauropteryx had a dorsal fin
like structure, as was suggested at SVP last year, but that whole idea was
histologically bankrupt, and had been proposed by individuals who hadn't
even seen the specimen (see famous GSP quote about seeing actual specimen
prior to making claims in reputable journals, conferences, or whatever).
Last time I heard from Larry Martin, I was under the impression that he
was no longer holding to that idea (although of course, he doesn't think
they are phylogenetically related to bird feathers).

Do I need to review the histological issues of the Sinosauropteryx
epidermal structures?

Scott Hartman