Re: Dino Classification Made Simple

["T. Mike Keesey" <tkeese1@gl.umbc.edu>]

On Tue, 27 Apr 1999, John M. Dollan wrote:

> Hi folks...
> 
> I know I've belabored this subject long enough, but after speaking with
> some friends and professors here, I've decided that a simplistic
> classification system, for the general viewer, would be best when I
> create my web page for all confirmed Dinosaur species.
> 
> In other words, rather than worrying about subclasses, infraorders, what
> class goes under what class, and so on, I thought I would perform a very
> simple classification method that would give a new comer to Dinosaurs a
> general idea of where a species might fit.

Hmm... if it were me, I'd go with something like:

Dinosauria
 Ornithischia
  (non-genasaur ornithischians or "fabrosaurs" here)
  Thyreophora
   (_Scutellosaurus_, _Scelidosaorus_, and other non-eurypod thyreophorans)
   Stegosauria
   Ankylosauria
    Nodosauridae
    Ankylosauridae
     Polacanthinae
     Shamosaurinae
     Ankylosaurinae
  Cerapoda
   Heterodontosauridae
   Ornithopoda
    ("hypsilophodonts")
    Iguanodontia
     (non-hadrosaur iguanodonts here)
     Hadrosauridae
      Hadrosaurinae
      Lambeosaurinae
   Ceratopsia
    _Psittacosaurus_
    Neoceratopsia
     ("protoceratopsids")
     Ceratopsidae
      Centrosaurinae
      Ceratopsinae
 Saurischia
  Sauropodomorpha
   ("prosauropods")
   Sauropoda
    (basal sauropods -- _Vulcanodon_, _Barapasaurus_, euhelopodids, 
"cetiosaurids")
    Neosauropoda
     _Haplocanthosaurus_
     Diplodocimorpha
      _Amphicoelias_
      Rebbachisauridae
      Dicraeosauridae
      Diplodocidae
     Macronaria
      ("camarasaurids")
      Titanosauriformes
       ("brachiosaurids")
       Titanosauroidea
  Theropoda
   ?("herrerasaurs")
   Neotheropoda
    Coelophysoidea
     Procompsognathinae
     Coelophysinae
    Neoceratosauria
     ("ceratosaurids")
     Abelisauria
    Tetanurae
     ("megalosaurs")
     Spinosauridae
      Baryonychinae
      Spinosaurinae
     Neotetanurae
      Carnosauria
      Coelurosauria
       ("basal coelurosaurs" -- _Dryptosaurus_, compsognathids, 
_Ornitholestes_, etc.)
       Tyrannosauroidea
        Tyrannosauridae
         ("aublysodontines")
         Tyrannosaurinae
       Ornithomimosauria
        (non-ornithomimid ornithomimosaurs)
        Ornithomimidae
       Therizinosauroidea
        _Alxasaurus_
        Therizinosauridae
       Oviraptorosauria
        _Microvenator_
        Caenagnathidae
        Oviraptoridae
       Troodontidae
       Dromaeosauridae
       Avialae
       
Kill the subfamilies (and maybe the families) if you want it simpler. This
should agree mostly with most current phylogenies.

--T. Mike Keesey                                    <tkeese1@gl.umbc.edu>
WORLDS                                  <http://www.gl.umbc.edu/~tkeese1>
THE DINOSAURICON                               <http://dinosaur.umbc.edu>