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Re: Coelurosauria Cladogram is here!


Mickey,
Super cool cladogram (I obviously always take your analyses very seriously, although I would never base a classification solely on an analysis that omits flight characters).
The Alvarezsaurid-Avimid relationship doesn't surprise me, but being that close to Ornithomimes is a little surprising. And that paraphyletic Caudipteridae makes me very happy. I assume Nomingia is at the base of the Oviraptorosauria sensu stricto (if so, that makes me even happier).
What really jumped out at me was that Troodontidae lies squarely within the nexus of Dromaeosauridae (sensu lato). Will have to give that some serious thought. And I might add that I completely agree with Jaime that placing more derived clades toward the bottom is preferable [which is exactly what the Kinman System does---not the "Kinmanian" System by the way :-)].
Mickey, I'm wondering if the twisted-thumb character is part of your matrix?? Especially wondering if it is absent in all therizinosaurians (or just segnosaurs). Don't worry Jaime, I'm not planning on throwing them out of Theropoda based on just a twisted thumb. But it might add to their distinctiveness as a separate clade from oviraptorosaurs.
----Thanks, Ken
****************************************** 
From: "Mickey Mortimer" <Mickey_Mortimer11@msn.com>
Reply-To: Mickey_Mortimer11@msn.com
To: <dinosaur@usc.edu>
Subject: Re: Coelurosauria Cladogram is here!
Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2001 19:26:48 -0700

T. Mike Keesey wrote-

> The spacing was messed up in the original post (does your e-mail program
> use a monospace font, Mickey?)

Damn it.  No, I don't use a monospace font (if you mean a font like text
files have...).  Not sure how to in e-mail.

> (BTW, if you're using this system for text-based cladograms, placing more
> derived taxa toward the bottom makes it more legible, IMHO, avoiding the
> "Menorah effect". e.g, this:

Let's try again....

+--Tyrannosauroidea
 |--lots of basal coelurosaurs (compsognathids, Coelurus, Ornitholestes,
Scipionyx, etc.)
 `--+--+--+--Ornithomimosauria
      |     |    `--+--Alvarezsauridae
      |     |         `--Avimimus
      |     `--+--+--Segnosauria
      |          |     `--Protarchaeopteryx
      |          `--+--Caudipteryx zoui
      |               `--+--Caudipteryx? sp.
      |                    `--+--Microvenator
      |                         `--Oviraptorosauria sensu stricto
      `--+--Bagaraatan
           `--+--Deinonychosauria (incl. Sinornithosaurus, Bambiraptor,
Achillobator)
                `--+--Troodontidae
                     `--+--Microraptor
                          `--+--Archaeopteryx
                               `--+--+--Rahonavis
                                    |     `--Unenlagia
                                    `--+--Yandangornis
                                         `--Pygostylia

Mickey Mortimer



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