Re: Where have all the ornithischians gone?

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

> So is Lotosaurus. If you squint (or use PAUP) you can still see the
> fabrosaur/pisanosaur in its skull, general proportions and limbs. Teeth
> are gone but that happens. So what if it's quadrupedal?

It isn't merely quadrupedal, it's a rauisuchian. Totally rebuilt hip joint!

> The tarsus is bigger than what you
> might expect to see in a dinosaur, but remember its very basal, only a
> taxon or two away from crocs.

*Lotosaurus* doesn't simply have a "big" tarsus. It has a crocodile-normal 
ankle. Major shift in biomechanics that was not done by dinosaurs or any of 
their ancestors.

> If we had a clade called Paraornithischia, we wouldn't need an 'incerta
> sedis' for these taxa.

Would be a scenario-based wastebasket.