Re: Fossil Discovery Threatens Theory of Birds' Evolution

[Ronald Orenstein <ornstn@home.com>]

At 05:08 PM 26/06/2000 -0400, ELurio@aol.com wrote:
> Closely related? The graptolites went extinct during the Devonian.
> Cephalodiscus graptolitoides is Quarternary. The time difference is immense.

So what?  Time has nothing to do with degree of relationship, and certainly 
lothing to do with extent of evolutionary divergence.  There are animals 
living today belonging to the same GENUS as Devonian animals (eg the 
brachiopod Lingula); even among vertebrates, the Australian lungfish is 
very closely related to the Devonian genus Ceratodus.  Anyway, if Dilly is 
right and graptolites are pterobranchs then they did NOT go extinct in the 
Devonian, merely dropped out of the fossil record.

> Even if either you or I am right in this debate, the fact still remains that
> Logismama(sic) and any dinosaur are a thousand times more closely related
> than graptolites and Cephalodiscus graptolitoides.

Not according to Dilly, who is an authority on such matters.  He considers 
them very closely related indeed, and unless you have some facts to justify 
your statement you will forgive me if I take the opinion of a scientist 
working directly with these organisms in the field and laboratory in 
preference to yours.
--
Ronald I. Orenstein                           Phone: (905) 820-7886
International Wildlife Coalition              Fax/Modem: (905) 569-0116
1825 Shady Creek Court
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada L5L 3W2          mailto:ornstn@home.com