New dinobird "Sinovenator"

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

    The description of Sinovenator prompts to delurk momentarily on 
coelurosaurian systematics.   The authors decision to assign Sinovenator as 
a "Troodont" is apparently being accepted with little challenge.  I somewhat 
disagree.
     It seems to me to be too specialized  to be a truly primitive 
troodont, and it's inclusion therein is probably premature.   For the time 
being, I prefer to leave it as an independent clade (plesion) between the 
troodonts and Archaeopterygiformes (sensu lato) as follows:

Class AVEA (AVES)
   1  Troodontiformes Kinman, 2002?
             1  Plesion Sinornihoides
             2  Pl. Byronosaurus
             3  Troodontidae
   ?  Plesion Bagaraatan
   2  Plesion Sinoventator
   3  Archaeopterygiformes
             1 Dromaeosauridae
                      etc.

      Note that this is a simple addition of Plesion Sinovenator to my 
previous classificiation (along with the proposed elevation of troodonts 
from plesion status to full Ordinal status).  I actually suspect that 
Sinovenator will actually be a member of Archaeopterygiformes, more derived 
than Family Dromaeosauridae (sensu stricto).   But it may remain as a 
separate clade unto itself (as above) or possibly even a basal clade of 
Troodontiformes (my third choice at the present time).  If more primitive 
troodontiforms are found, I would expect them to be propubic to mesopubic 
(not opisthopubic like Sinovenator).  We shall see.
     ---------- Cheers,   Ken Kinman


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