Re: Question(s) about Cladistics and PhyloCode

[mike@miketaylor.org.uk (Mike Taylor)]

>>> A group such as Aves (birds) is _defined_ to be (for example) all
>>> descendants of the most recent common ancestor of _Archaeopteryx_
>>> and the common sparrow;
>> 
>> And the ancestor itself, too! Otherwise the taxon would consist of two 
>> separate clades. :-)
>> 
>> (As an aside, this would be a rather careless definition.
> 
> This is Sereno's definition, which uses a node-based definition of
> Aves anchored on _Archaeopteryx_ and _Passer_.

For what it's worth, I believe that this definition of Aves is due to
Luis Chippe:

        Chiappe, L. M.  1992.  Enantiornithine (Aves)
        tarsometatarsi and the avian affinities of the Late
        Cretaceous Avisauridae.  Journal of Vertebrate
        Paleontology.  12: 344-350.

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