Re: Stem-modified node shorthand?

[SeanSt8579@aol.com]

In a message dated 4/14/04 12:01:21 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
mightyodinn@yahoo.com writes:

<< Clade(extant Clade(X <- Y)), or {extant {X > Y}}? >>

I was thinking about something like that, but the problem is, how do you 
easily denote a hypothetical common ancestor? Like de Queiroz & Gauthier's 
Neoaves: the most recent common ancestor of Passer and all forms closer to that 
ancestor than to Galloanserae. "Common ancestor" is down with the plus, "closer 
to" 
we got, and "Passer" and "Galloanserae" are easy enough, but how do we 
symbolize "that ancestor" without having to type it out?

And once again, I must apologize for not changing the address and sending TMK 
his own personal copy of this...grrrr...