Shuvuuia paper

[bh480@scn.org]

From: Ben Creisler bh480@scn.org

In case this one has not been mentioned yet:

Suzuki, S, L. Chiappe, G. Dyke, M. Watabe, R. Barsbold & 
K. Tsogtbaatar, 2002. A new specimen of Shuvuuia deserti 
Chiappe et al., 1998, from the Mongolian Late Cretaceous 
with a discussion of the relationships of alvarezsaurids 
to other theropod dinosaurs. Contributions in Science (Los 
Angeles) 494: 1-18

A partial skeleton of an immature individual of the 
alvarezsaurid mononykine theropod Shuvuuia deserti from 
the Late Cretaceous (Campanian) Togrogiin Shiree locality 
of southern Mongolia exhibits a number of features, most 
importantly in the manus, pes, and caudal series, 
previously unknown for this taxon and all other 
alvarezsaurids. The well-preserved and articulated right 
hand of this new specimen confirms the presence of manual 
digits II and III among alvarezsaurids. The nearly 
complete tail of the new specimen indicates that previous 
calculations for the number of caudal vertebrae in 
mononykines (i.e., 25 or 26 vertebrae) underestimated this 
number by at least 10 elements. Complete and articulated 
pedal digits I (hallux) provide additional morphological 
information, which when added to new data from other 
skeletal regions strengthens the diagnosis of Shuvuuia 
deserti. Competing hypotheses for alvarezsaurid 
phylogenetic relationships have depicted these taxa either 
within Aves, or as nonavian theropods. These hypotheses 
are briefly summarized, and in particular, a critical 
evaluation of the character evidence in support of the 
ornithomimoid affiliation of this theropod clade is 
provided. We demonstrate that the evidence in support of 
this latter hypothesis is largely unsubstantiated.