RAUHUT ON BASAL THEROPODS

[darren.naish@port.ac.uk]

Ha ha.. it is in my hands right now (well, it is when I'm not 
typing)....

Rauhut, O. W. M. 2003. The interrelationships and 
evolution of basal theropod dinosaurs. _Special Papers in 
Palaeontology_ 69, 1-213.

As mentioned, it theory it should be orderable from the Pal. 
Ass. website (www.palass.org) but as of today is not 
advertised there. Full price is £60; to Pal. Ass. members it's 
less. I am due to write a proper review so will save more 
detailed comments until then. Meanwhile.. 

Needless to say this is a major contribution. 60 taxa are 
analysed using 224 characters. Thankfully the data matrix is 
protrayed in tabular form. The general conclusions of this 
study will be familiar due to Mickey's summary of Rauhut's 
thesis but they are: that _Eoraptor_ and herrerasaurids are 
basal theropods; that Ceratosauria sensu Gauthier is 
paraphyletic and forms two monophyletic groups which are 
successive outgroups to Tetanurae; that Carnosauria is 
monophyletic and that it includes a Spinosauroidea and an 
Allosauroidea.

_Dilophosaurus_ is excluded from Coelophysoidea but is 
closer to Ceratosauria + Tetanurae (Ceratosauria is used 
here for _Ceratosaurus_ + Abelisauroidea). _Neovenator_ is 
sister to Carcharodontosauridae and sinraptorids are the 
sister-taxon to _Neovenator_ + carcharodontosaurids as 
these taxa share an expanded ischial 'boot', postorbital 
projection into orbit and dorsal projection on the parietals 
(_Allosaurus_ is outside of this clade.. hmm). 
_Spinosaurus_ is suggested to be a composite and 
consequently Baryonychidae is used for the _S. 
aegyptiacus_ dentary, _Baryonyx_, _Suchomimus_ etc. 
_Proceratosaurus_ is a basal coelurosaur and coelurids 
(_Coelurus_ + compsognathids) and tyrannosauroids are  
basal coelurosaurs closer to Maniraptora than _P. bradleyi_. 
A new skull reconstruction of _Ornitholestes_ is provided 
(no horn): surprisingly large premax teeth (larger than 
maxillary teeth). Dromaeosaurids and troodontids form a 
Deinonychosauria, _Unenlagia_ is closer to birds than to 
deinonychosaurs. _Avimimus_ and _Microvenator_ are 
closer to Oviraptorosauria (used in most restrictive sense) 
than is _Caudipteryx_.

All characters used are explained and many are illustrated: 
something I think EVERYONE would _like_ do, but often 
cannot for reasons of space and time. There are extensive 
discussions on the implications of the phylogeny, how it 
compares to other studies and the patterns it reveals for 
theropod biogeography and cladogenesis.

_Eotyrannus_ is mentioned in there somewhere but I haven't 
found where yet.

-- 
Darren Naish
School of Earth & Environmental Sciences
University of Portsmouth UK, PO1 3QL

email: darren.naish@port.ac.uk
tel: 023 92846045