Re: Sarcosuchus & Dumbing things down

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

    Jura brings up a good point.  The common name crocodile is usually the 
name reserved for members of Family Crocodylidae.  In this context, it is 
probably best to call members of Family Alligatoridae by the common name 
alligators, and members of Family Pholidosauridae as pholidosaurs 
(pholidosaurids).
    The broader term "crocodylian" should apply to members of Crocodylia, 
but we still are faced with two different concepts of what Crocodylia 
includes.  The traditional concept is Crocodylia sensu lato, used by Alfred 
Romer, Robert Carroll, Encyclopaedia Britannica, and lots of other 
references, and relatively recently in Mike Benton's 1997 classification.  
Seems to me the cladistic alternative of Crocodylia "sensu stricto" might 
not be widely used outside of cladistic circles.
    Perhaps the PhyloCode people might want to consider using another name 
(Eucrocodylia?) for this restricted taxon.  Of course, something like 
Eusuchia would probably be preferable, but the strict cladists seem 
insistent on having different names for the node-based taxon and the 
stem-based taxon which is a few "splinters" larger.  I don't agree with 
Dodson on how bad cladistic "analysis" is, but when it comes to cladistic 
"classification", I think his phrase "tortured" pretty much hits the nail on 
the head.  However, I think my characterization as "splintered" is even 
better (and perhaps a little kinder than the term "tortured").
    In any case, whether it is correct to call a pholidosaur a crocodylian 
(or not) is a matter of opinion, depending on whether you use Crocodylia 
sensu lato (or sensu stricto). I think we should stick to educating the 
public about the important stuff that systematists do agree on---spiders are 
not insects, and ichthyosaurs are not dinosaurs.
    That's a whole lot more important than quibbling about semantics over 
what the common name "crocodylian" applies to.   It seems rather surprising 
that the PhyloCode hasn't even been implemented yet, and the strict cladists 
are already complaining that the rest of the world isn't following their 
terminology.  Better get used to it, because I think the backlash against 
strict cladism has barely gotten started yet.
                  -------Ken

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