Re: Dinosaurs with Pygostyles

["Ralph W. Miller III" <gbabcock@best.com>]

What is known of the caudal series of other oviraptorosaur specimens?

If the "_National Geographic_ specimen" (pardon the vernacular) is the norm,
then secondary flightlessness can be considered as a possibility.  If, on the
other hand, other oviraptorosaur specimens are known to have distal caudal
vertebrae which do not terminate in a "pygostyle," wouldn't this argue for
convergence with protobirds, as -- barring a reversal -- the ancestral
oviraptorosaur would not exhibit this character?

-- Ralph W. Miller III       gbabcock@best.com