RE: Meet me & see my website

[Steven Mahon <floridamahon@yahoo.com>]

--- "Thomas R. Holtz, Jr." <tholtz@geol.umd.edu>
wrote:
> > From: owner-dinosaur@usc.edu
> [mailto:owner-dinosaur@usc.edu]On Behalf Of
> > Steven Mahon
> >
> > > Correct me I'm wrong, but there are no colleges
> or
> > > universities offering
> > > degrees in either, if this has changed, I'd love
> to
> > > know.
> >
> > I thought the University of Pennsylvania offered a
> > Paleobiology degree??
> 
> Nope.  For your undergraduate career, you'll want to
> major in either Geology
> (Earth Science; Earth & Planetary Science: names
> vary by university) or
> Biology (Zoology; Bioscience; etc.), and take a
> number of classes in the
> other field.  Your undergraduate time should be
> about getting the basics you
> need in order to get into graduate school.  Even
> there your degree won't be
> in "Paleontology" or "Paleobiology", at least not on
> paper.  Universities
> normally issue degrees by Department, and the
> paleontologists of the world
> are mostly in Geology and Biology departments.

Oh. Thanks didn't know that.

> 
> > > 1. Even though I don't like apomorphy-based
> clades,
> > > the node containing
> > > Dilophosaurus and the neotheropods would be
> > > Averostra.
> >
> > Ooh. I didn't know there was a Dilo + Neo clade...
> > have to add that....
> 
> This has been proposed in some studies, but is not
> found in other analyses.

Ok. got to be cautious then....

> 
> > > 2. The Clade(Passer > Spinosaurus) stem is
> actually
> > > the node Avetheropoda
> > > (Allosaurus + Neornithes), I believe.
> >
> Actually, the stem there is NOT named yet.  I've
> argued that Neotetanurae
> would be better there...

Interesting

> 
> > Hhm.... 1. Wasn't Neotetanurae defined first? (A
> > pet-peeve of mine is NOT using clades that are
> > synonomous w/ clades that were defined first.)
> 
> This is a REALLY tricky one.  The word
> "Avetheropoda" was defined first
> (1988 vs. 1994).  The use of Avetheropoda and
> Neotetanurae on a
> numercially-derived cladogram was nearly
> simultaneous (1994).  Formulaic
> definitions of these names were both provided in
> 1997. I'm going to have to
> hunt down the exact dates the Currie & Padian
> Encyclopedia vs. the Sereno
> 1997 paper came out...

Ok

> 
> > Anyways, whaich of
> > those Enigmosauria def.'s came out first?
> 
> In terms of the scientific literature?  None of
> them.  Please don't use it
> as a formal term.

Yup. That's what I've been doing.

> 
> > And, since
> > Enigmosauria isnt defined (correct me if I'm wrong
> > again) but shouldn't it go in quotes?
> 
> Yes!!
> 
> >I excluded Avimimus because I used The node
> > based Enigmosauria (Oviraptor + Enigmosaurus) &
> don't
> > common phylogenies have Avimimus right outside
> that
> > point? (correct me if I'm wrong AGAIN)
> 
> Most recent studies place Avimimus IN
> Oviraptorosauria in the more
> restricted sense.

Which definition? The (Oviraptor > Neornithes) one,
the (Oviraptor + Chirostenotes) one, or the (Oviraptor
> Therizinosaurus) one?
 
> 
> > >
> > > 5. Alvarezsaurids probably were not the
> sistergroup
> > > to Pygostylia, but more
> > > basal.
> >
> > I'll look into that.
> 
> Most recent studies show Alvarezsauridae outside
> Eumaniraptora.

hhmmm... I might just put it in i.s. somewhere since
there are so many versions on where the alvies go....

          Thanks for the advice,
           Steven Mahon
> 
>               Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
>               Vertebrate Paleontologist
> Department of Geology         Director, Earth, Life & Time
> Program
> University of Maryland                College Park Scholars
>               College Park, MD  20742
> http://www.geol.umd.edu/~tholtz/tholtz.htm
> http://www.geol.umd.edu/~jmerck/eltsite
> Phone:        301-405-4084    Email:  tholtz@geol.umd.edu
> Fax (Geol):  301-314-9661     Fax (CPS-ELT):
> 301-405-0796
> 


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