Re: paraphyletic Dromaeosauridae (was: first raptor)

["David Marjanovic" <david.marjanovic@gmx.at>]

An interesting post has drowned in today's flood of about 60 e-mails...

>      Actually I have long been contemplating whether a paraphyletic Family
> Dromaeosauridae giving rise to Aves might be the best way to go.

Why contemplate? Test it! :-)

> I don't
> normally use intermediate taxa like subfamilies, but the Kinman System
does
> not forbid it, so will give it a try in this case.

Suddenly >:->
IMHO you should do that more often. Much more often. :-)

> I have not decided where Adasaurus should go (near or in
Velociraptorines??).

Close to *Dromaeosaurus*, *Utahraptor*, *Unenlagia* and *Achillobator*,
means, in Dromaeosaurinae?
http://www.cmnh.org/fun/dinosaur-archive/2000Sep/msg00191.html and
http://www.cmnh.org/fun/dinosaur-archive/2000Oct/msg00476.html sound
comparatively impressive.

> Perhaps troodonts are intermediate between utahraptorines and
> dromaeosaurines,

Unlikely. Dromaeosauridae (and IMHO *Archaeopteryx* + Dromaeosauridae) has
quite an impressive list of synapomorphies, while the position of
troodontids near dromaeosaurids is by no means fixed at the moment.

>   2   Dromaeosauridae
>           1  "utahraptorines"
>           2  Dromaeosaurinae
>           3  Velociraptorinae
>           4  Sinornithosaurus
>           5  Microraptor
>           ?  Bambiraptor
>           6  Unenlagia
>           7  Rahonavis
>           8  {{AVES}}
> _a_ {{AVES}}

So this means the following?

Dromaeosauridae
  |--"utahraptorines"
  `--*--Dromaeosaurinae
       `--+--Velociraptorinae
            `--+--*Sinornithosaurus*
                 `--+--*Microraptor*
                      |    ?*Bambiraptor*
                      `--+--*Unenlagia*
                           `--+--*Rahonavis*
                                `--+--*Archaeopteryx*
                                     `--+--*Sapeornis*
                                          `--Pygostylia

* = Dromaeosauridae according to the usual definition

Well, what about that:

Deinonychosauria sensu Padian, Holtz & Hutchinson, 1997/1999 non sensu
Gauthier, 1986 nec sensu Sereno, 1998
  |--*Archaeopteryx*
  |--*Rahonavis*
  `--+--*Microraptor*
       `--+--*Sinornithosaurus*
            `--+--*Bambiraptor*
                 `--Dromaeosauridae sensu... anyhow, non sensu Sereno, 1998
                      |--Dromaeosaurinae
                      `--Velociraptorinae