Re: Dinosaur Dreaming report 2003

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

> This specimen indicates that the lower jaw of
> Teinolophos was comprised of four bones; the dentary, and facets that
> indicate three additional bones that had been reduced to splints.

What could those be? The coronoid, the splenial and the ossified Meckel's
cartilage (called mentomandibular in frogs)? Or [shudder] are they in the
back of the jaw, which would indicate that the mammalian middle ear evolved
twice?

> This seems to indicate that monotremes split from the
> ancestors of placentals and marsupials well before they split from each
> other, perhaps indicating that marsupials are closer to placentals than
> either are to monotremes.

Which is old news. :-)

> it most closely resembles that of enantiornithines (no surprise
> there; Nanantius is known from Queensland).

There's no evidence that *Nanantius* is an enanti. (Though there's no
evidence that it isn't, either.)

> periglacial (or cryoturbational) periods
> [...] longer and slightly warmer intervening periods

Wow! Glacial cycles in the Mesozoic! -- This sounds like the temporal
resolution of the sediments is very fine. Is it perhaps fine enough for
cyclostratigraphy (Milankovic cycles, which have constrained the marine P-Tr
mass extinction at a duration of 8,000 years or less)?