Now that sounds promising...
Did they mention something that does not
have the... character? :-)
The title refers to the fact that
tritylodontid almost-mammals have been identified from there. Before the
discovery of EK tritylodontids in Japan in IIRC 1998 tritylodontids were
supposed to have died out in the MJ.
Thanks for the information on the two characters I suggested (and
for showing how my peculiar memory works). :-)
Next characters:
Pubis not (0) smoothly convex over its entire length including the
foot/boot (1). Present in Allosaurus fragilis sensu PDW, not too robust
tyrannosaurids, oviraptorids, Nomingia (to an enormous extent) and
Caudipteryx (pers. obs.), not present in non-coelurosaurs except A.
fragilis, dromaeosaurs, Archaeopteryx, Rahonavis and
Avimimus. Allosaurs and tyrannosaurs have greatly enlarged the pubic
peduncles and the corresponding proximal ends of the pubes, unlike
oviraptorosaurs. Maybe this retrieves Oviraptorosauria...
I also need something that ties Sinornithosaurus,
Microraptor and preferably Archaeopteryx to the
(Bambiraptor + Dromaeosauridae) clade. Judging from the dorsal views in
PDW, the plesiomorphy (coelophysids, allosaurs, tyrannosaurs...) is that the
ilia are more or less parallel to the sacral neural spines and quite close to
them, while Archaeopteryx and dromaeosaurids have the ilia far apart
(the sacral transverse processes + ribs are longer than the transverse processes
of the caudals and apparently the dorsals) and Avimimus has them close
together cranially and far apart caudally, which is said to be birdlike (true
for Neornithes, pers. obs.). What have I overlooked this time?
Could someone comment on the upturned nasals/depressed snout as a
synapomorphy for (Archaeopteryx + Dromaeosauridae), or what else I
could take from http://www.dinosauria.com/jdp/archie/dromey.htm to
get some more resolution?
Thanks in advance.
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