PROCERATOSAURUS & FRIENDS

[darren.naish@port.ac.uk]

As is increasingly the case, this post is a response to others sent 
weeks ago, but what the hell. The discussion Tom Holtz and Nick 
Pharris had about tetanuran ischia was interesting but I urge you all 
to tread through this area with caution - the specimen SMNK 2349 
PAL, a little critter I have just finished writing up in my thesis, 
will confound you all with its bizarre ischial character states. It 
will see print sometime soon (and I am not part of the authorship). 
Don't say you haven't been warned:)

BMNH R4860, type for _Proceratosaurus_, is one heck of a 
specimen, and many of its most remarkable features have not really 
been documented in print (Woodward 1910, Paul 1988a, b). As Larry 
Witmer noted, it does have a very extensive antorbital fossa and both 
promaxillary and maxillary fenestrae - the promaxillary fenestra is 
'tucked up' (sensu Witmer:)) rostromedially, while the maxillary 
fenestra has been largely ignored because it's filled with matrix. 

Two other really amazing things: the specimen is shockingly 
heterodont - though this is something Greg has noted, he didn't 
indicate how truly marked it was. Also, it is incredibly narrow from 
side to side. The skull is about 250 mm long in total, yet only 30 mm 
wide! Some lateral crushing may have affected this, but the dentary 
symphasis and premaxillae are in very good shape, which argues 
against it. Kellner previously described the type specimen of 
_Angaturama_ as representative of the most laterally compressed snout 
in all of theropodhood - well, it looks to me like _P. bradleyi_ 
might actually win that title. These observations are taken from my 
recent look at the specimen, I may publish.

DARREN NAISH
darren.naish@port.ac.uk