Re: Ornithomimid beaks

["T. Mike Keesey" <tmk@dinosauricon.com>]

On Sat, 1 Sep 2001, David Marjanovic wrote:

> > Beaks appear to have evolved at least three times within _Theropoda_ (all
> > within _Maniraptoriformes_): once in _Ornithomimosauria_, once in
> > Clade(_Oviraptor_ <-- _Passer_) (which includes _Therizinosauria_), and
> > once within _Aves_. It is not certain whether _Avimimidae_ and
> > _Alvarezsauria_ belong to one of these groups or evolved beaks
> > independently.
>
> This implies that *Protarchaeopteryx*, *Sinornis* and other basal
> pygostylians and probably *Archaeopteryx* had beaks -- improbable IMHO. Is
> there any evidence for beaks in alvarezsaurs?

I said WITHIN those clades, not for the whole clade. And _Sinornis_ other
basal pygostylians did have beaks. _Protarchaeopteryx_'s skull isn't even
known, is it? (And it isn't a pygostylian, if you meant to imply that.)
_Archaeopteryx_ isn't supposed to have had a beak, AFAIAA, but I said
*within* _Aves_, not *in all* _Aves_.

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