Re: Coelurosaur Analysis update, with Graciliraptor, Atrociraptor, Sinusonasus, Aberratiodontus, etc.

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

> 243 characters, 122 taxa,

Whew. Your analysis is already on par with the biggest published ones!

> 63315 most parsimonious trees,

Aaaah... a reasonable number... =8-) ;-)

> 90% majority consensus

Unreasonably good resolution... or should I say...?

> |--+--Allosaurus
> |  |--Fukuiraptor
> |  `--+--Richardoestesia
> |     |--Acrocanthosaurus
> |     `--+--Monolophosaurus
> |        |--Proceratosaurus
> |        `--Sinraptor

Weird...

> |--Iliosuchus
> |--Stokesosaurus
> `--+--+--"Alashansaurus"
>    |  `--+--Calamosaurus
>    |     |--Eotyrannus
>    |     `--Aviatyrannis
>    `--+--+--+--Dryptosaurus
>       |  |  `--Gorgosaurus
>       |  `--+--Bagaraatan
>       |     `--Tyrannosaurus

Interesting...

>                      `--+--+--+--Therizinosaurus
>                         |  |  `--+--Patagonykus
>                         |  |     `--+--Alvarezsaurus
>                         |  |        `--Mononykinae

Incredible... are you sure you didn't slip a line or something?

>             `--+--+--+--Nomingia
>                |  |  `--Variraptor

With a bootstrap support of over 3? :-}

>                `--+--Avimimus
>                   `--+--Yandangornis
>                      `--+--+--Sapeornis
>                         |  `--Omnivoropteryx
>                         `--+--Deinonychosauria
>                            `--Avialae

Except for the positions of Deinonychosauria and Alvarezsauridae... I KNEW
it! =8-)

> Deinonychosauria
> |--+--Shenzhouraptor
> |  `--Jixiangornis
> `--+--Scansoriopterygidae
>    `--+--+--Archaeopteryx
>       |  `--Wellnhoferia

I think in the last 10 runs of your analysis you've discovered all things I
ever KNEW about coelurosaur phylogeny. :-)

> Notice the interesting pattern-
> |--segnosaurs
> `--+--oviraptorosaur (Incisivosaurus)
>    `--+--oviraptorosaur (Caudipteryx)
>       `--+--oviraptorosaurs (caenagnathids, oviraptorids, etc.)
>          `--+--bird-like oviraptorosaur (Avimimus)
>             `--+--ovi-like birds (omnivoropterygids)
>                `--+--+--ovi-like birds (Shenzhouraptor, Jixiangornis)
>                   |  `--predatory deinonychosaurs (archaeopterygids,
>                   |     troodontids, dromaeosaurs)
>                   `--+--ovi-like birds (confuciusornithids)
>                      `--predatory birds (enants, ornithuromorphs)

AFAIK *Shenzhouraptor* and *Jixiangornis* aren't "ovi-like" except for their
beaks. They're much more Archie-like, especially in the tail. (Like
Scansoriopterygidae and *Sinusonasus*.)

> Maniraptorans are basally herbivorous in this phylogeny, with
> deinonychosaurs and birds both developing carnivorous clades
independently.

(IMHO herbivory is only a safe inference for segnosaurs and
*Incisivosaurus*, which means your intriguing result is actually ambiguous.)

> - Archaeopterygids and scansoriopterygids are deinonychosaurs, and
Rahonavis
> is a dromaeosaur.  The latter's pes isn't even coded yet.

What characters place it there then? :-o

> - Yixian dromaeosaurs form a basal clade, as in Xu and Wang (2004).

That's surprising... except, perhaps, if one takes paleogeography into
account.