Re: Aliwalia [from Adam Yates]

[Tim Williams <twilliams_alpha@hotmail.com>]

Mickey Mortimer wrote:

> No apologies necessary.  Adam told me about Aliwalia months ago, so I had 
> more than just Langer's statements to base my comment on.  I just couldn't 
> reveal the details about why I put so much faith in the sauropodomorph 
> features Langer noted. :)

OK, it makes sense now.  Any word on what the "Aliwalia" maxilla belongs to? 
 (A rauisuchian, perhaps?)

> Interesting that massospondylids, Yunnanosaurus and 'riojasaurids' have 
> been moved to basal sauropod status in Yates' latest analyses though.  I 
> think that leaves plateosaurids as the only prosauropods (unless Efraasia's 
> position has stabilized), presumably with Saturnalia and Thecodontosaurus 
> still outside the Prosauropoda + Sauropoda clade.

If Prosauropoda is limited to plateosaurids (either completely or in 
essence), I wonder if there's any point in keeping the term "Prosauropoda" 
at all.  Plateosauria or just Plateosauridae would probably be a better term 
for this group, considering that the majority of taxa traditionally placed 
in the Prosauropoda are now regarded as either basal sauropodomorphs or 
basal sauropods.  And the restricted composition of Prosauropoda sensu 
stricto makes the name ("before sauropods") even more inappropriate than it 
ever was.  Just a thought...

Cheers

Tim