Re: Dinosaur Genera List update #187

[Dinogeorge@aol.com]

In a message dated 7/26/02 4:48:21 PM EST, Mickey_Mortimer111@msn.com writes:

<< As both Tom and I have said, the tail is not very dromaeosaurid-like.  As
 much as I would love to have a flying deinonychosaur found, Jeholornis is
 not it.  Rahonavis is more similar to deinonychosaurs, as is Archaeopteryx
 for that matter.  I've seen no reason to place Jeholornis outside Aves, and
 expect it to fall out by Sapeornis and Yandangornis.  Paravian phylogeny is
 extremely uncertain at present of course, so virtually anything is possible,
 but leaving out the asterisk in your list seems inappropriate to me. >>

I also left out the asterisk with Rahonavis. Now that I have looked at a copy 
of the paper, I'm inclined to agree that it's more advanced toward birdness 
than the usual cursorial deinonychosaur, and I may eventually asterisk both 
Rahonavis and Jeholornis. Meanwhile, however, the tail of Deinonychus (e.g.) 
is rather specialized, and I would not necessarily expect to find a flying 
dromaeosaurid with all those caudal specializations in it. I figure there was 
at least 20 Ma between the oldest known cursorial deinonychosaurs and their 
volant maniraptoran ancestors, maybe lots more. Enough time for a whole suite 
of cursorial specializations to develop. Also have to catch up on Sapeornis.