Re: Air sacs in extant non-avian reptiles?

["Scott Hartman" <scott_hartman@hotmail.com>]

> > > But on the other hand, I am not a strict cladist and have no desire to 
> > > adopt Gauthier's cladistic Reptilia sensu stricto, and like most people, 
> > > I regard synapsids as reptiles, and birds as a separate Class.<<<

    Im not sure what the advantage of the "eclectic" style  you are 
espousing.  Surely the fact that it is "well known" isn't a good reason to 
change it ("No Mr. Darwin, although I'm sure you're right in essence, people 
just aren't familiar with 'evolution,' and it would only confuse students of 
natural history").  On the other hand, some people would argue that there is 
useful informational content (diversity levels???) in a hierarchal system.  
I won't argue that point, but if that is the case, you need to create 
consistent criteria so as to present "equal" groups, and by any criteria, 
you either have to sink Aves into Dinosauria, or else remove Chiroptera from 
the Mammalia.  Either way, there is no legitimate reason to think of avian 
systematics in the sense that it is used in textbooks today.

Scott
________________________________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com