Re: Birds of Russia and Mongolia

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

Mickey_Mortimer wrote:

(Thanks for the info Mickey!)

> His phylogeny of enantiornithines is hard to decipher.  He seems to >have 
> two orders- the Alexornithiformes and Euornithiformes.  The >former 
> includes the Alexornithidae (Alexornis, Gobipteryx, >Kizylkumavis, 
> Lenesornis, Nanantius, Neuquenornis, Sazavis, >Zhyraornis), Avisauridae 
> (Avisaurus, Enantiornis, Soroavisaurus) and >Enantiornithidae (Gurilynia).

I enjoy reading Kurochkin's descriptions of Mesozoic birds, but I find his 
taxonomy downright perplexing.  An Enantiornithidae without _Enantiornis_?  
And I don't know what the story is behind
"Euornithiformes", but Kurochkin has used it a lot.

> The diagnoses for the groups are fairly extensive, although nearly all 
> >taxa are too fragmentary to be assigned to a group based on more than 
> >one character.

...and the description of _Apsaravis_ may put a new spin on many of these 
"enantiornithine" characters.

> Ambiortus Kurochkin 1982
> A. dementjevi Kurochkin 1982
[snip]
> Holotype- (PIN 3790-271, PIN 3790-272) cervical vertebrae, scapula, 
> >coracoid, partial sternum, furcular ends, proximal humerus, partial 
> >radius, partial ulna, carpometacarpus, phalanx II-1, phalanx II-2, 
> >manual ungual II
> Comments- The heterocoelous cervicals and normal scapulocoracoid 
> >articulation place this species in the Euornithes.  The flattened >manual 
> phalanx II-1 shows it is ornithurine.

When Kurochkin says "phalanx II-1", does he mean the middle digit or the 
innermost digit of the tridactyl manus?  Is it digit II of I-II-III from the 
ancestral pentadactyl condition (as dinosaur experts interpret the avian 
tridactyl manus), or digit II of II-III-IV (as ornithologists prefer)?



Tim

------------------------------------------------------------

Timothy J. Williams

USDA/ARS Researcher
Agronomy Hall
Iowa State University
Ames IA 50014

Phone: 515 294 9233
Fax:   515 294 3163

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