Gargantuavis (was Re: giant birds)

["Timothy Williams" <twilliams_alpha@hotmail.com>]

The way this thread started I think is that someone (Dan Benson, was it 
you?) asked how one could tell if _Gargantuavis_ was a bird or a non-avian 
theropod.  Especially since all that's known for this big birdie is a 
synsacrum and femur, both poorly preserved.

I just received Buffetaut's and Le Loeuff's paper today and, based on what 
they say, _Gargantuavis_ is a bird because of (1) the extreme degree of 
fusion of the sacral vertebrae and (2) the number of vertebrae in the sacrum 
(approx. ten, although it's hard to be sure of the exact count because of 
the aforementioned fusion).  Buffetaut and Le Loeuff suggest that 
_Gargantuavis_ MIGHT be related to _Patagopteryx_, but they don't force the 
point.

In answer to another posting, the _Gargantuavis_ type material is NOT the 
same as a synsacrum fragment from Provence described by Buffetaut in 
_Nature_ in 1985 (377: 110), although the authors do say that this fragment 
may belong to _Gargantuavis_.

Hope this helps


Tim

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