RE: Tanycolagreus topwilsoni

["R. Irmis" <rbi@dana.ucc.nau.edu>]

<<I should probably know this but what does NAMAL stand for.>>

North American Museum of Ancient Life, in Lehi, UT.

>Although what was once called "Solarus" or some such
>
<<Do you mean *Coelurus*?>>

I think he does. (HP Green correct me if I'm wrong).

>I am still friends with the person who did most of the
>reproduction work on it and the juvenile ceratosaur. H***, I even helped
>reconstruct a few bones of the ceratosaur.  Although the Tany skull has
>some of the premax, a lacrimal, teeth and a few other elements, the skull
>was created using their best guestimates. I remember being rebuffed after
>asking why it looked so muck like an small allosaur. The post cranial
>material is scant, but they do have some pretty good hand claws.

<<Ceratosaurus or ceratosaurian?  Can we expect a paper sometime?>>

I think we are getting two specimens confused.  There is ALSO on display a
juvenile Ceratosaurus nasicornis, which has a nicely preserved skull, with
various postcrania.  Maybe I'll scan my photos of that if there is any
interest.  Tanycolagreus topwilsoni is a new genus that is probably a
coelurid.  I think HP Green overstates the incompleteness of the specimen.
Except for the skull, it is obvious what is real bone in the photos.  Real
bone includes an almost complete forelimb and hindlimb, various parts of the
vertebral column including a nearly complete dorsal series and part of the
pubis.  As HP Green mentioned, there are only a few bones from the skull,
and my opinion is that the real skull material is not on display; what we
are seeing is a cast of the skull.  Incidentally HP Gardner, I believe you
requested photos, but my email got bounced back.  Please contact me offlist
to remedy the situation.

Finally, parts of the skeleton that have been reconstructed do look alot
like a small allosaur.  This makes sense since coelurids seem to fall out
just above tetanurae.  The manus is very maniraptoran though.

Regards,
Randall Irmis