Re: Some thoughts on AVES

["Ken Kinman" <kinman@hotmail.com>]

Fantastic,
    I whole-heartedly agree.  A movement toward more 
apomorphy(character)-based cladistic definitions is a cladisto-eclectic 
compromise well worth pursuing.
     Now we just need to do the same thing for Aves.  The question is, just 
where among theropods is there a serial character transformation which even 
approaches the clarity of the mammal distinction?
             ---------Ken
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NJPharris wrote:
> A definition for Mammalia along the lines of "the first organism to possess 
> three auditory ossicles homologous to those of living mammals and all of 
> its descendants" would be absolutely lovely, as far as I'm concerned (since 
> it both captures exactly a traditional conception of Mammalia and ensures 
> that the group thus defined will be monophyletic).


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