Re: Details on SVP 2001 Friday talks

[Waylon Rowley <whte_rbt_obj@yahoo.com>]

Nick Longrich wrote:

> Well, Sinraptor dongi has an elongate flange
> reaching around so as to almost close the pubic 
> fenestra; looking at the casts it 
> makes it look likely that in life the thing was
> actually closed. Sinraptor (Yangchuanosaurus) 
> hepingensis is illustrated with a closed 
> pubic fenestra. 

_Sinraptor_ (ZDM 0024) is a subadult and that region
may not have been fully ossified at the time of death.
The pubic apron is not fused into a single plate, so
that may be additional reason for doubt. To clear up
any confusion, do you mean the obturator foramen of
the pubis, or pubic fenestra?     

<snip> characters- things like the 
> overhanging postorbital boss, expanded 
> prefrontal, lip-like edge to the ventral margin of
> the antorbital fenestra, mental foramina of the 
> dentary set in a well-defined groove- which could 
> tie them together.

The first character is seen in a variety of different
animals, though Sinraptorids take it a step further. I
believe that in the Currie and Carpenter description
of _Acrocanthosaurus_ they suggested it was a
size-dependant characteristic. I'm thinking that the
development of a pneumatic rugose supraorbital bar may
not be diagnostic within traditional Carnosauria.
    Before I could comment on the other 2 characters
I'd need to know whether you consider
_Acrocanthosaurus_ a carcharodontosaurine, since it
has both. 
    
> Regarding troodontids, Sinornithoides seems to
> have an extraordinarily narrow head- rather similar
> to that "bladelike" snout that Velociraptor has.

Is the ventrally bowed skull of _V_ diagnostic in any
way?   

Cheers,
Waylon Rowley


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