Re: Opisthocoelicaudia (was Re: Titanosaurids)

[Dinogeorge@aol.com]

In a message dated 1/23/02 10:29:15 AM Pacific Standard Time, 
fam.jansma@worldonline.nl writes:

<< I think the cladistics is wrong here. _O._is no more a derived
 titanosaurid than segnosaurs are theropods. >>

I think this is something I wrote some time ago. Unfortunately, since I'm now 
convinced that segnosaurs >are< theropods, this statement has become 
considerably weakened! But nevertheless I remain quite unconvinced that 
Opisthocoelicaudia is a titanosaur. Rather, O. seems to occupy the same place 
(based on postcrania) that Nemegtosaurus occupies (based on cranial material) 
in the sauropod cladogram, and it's very likely that O. and N. are 
synonymous. Any titanosaur characters in O. are likely the result of 
convergence or chance.