[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index][Subject Index][Author Index]

Re: Tetanurae



Andreas Johansson wrote:

Presumably to prevent just that, Sereno's Taxon Search gives this
definition of Tetanurae:

The most inclusive clade containing Passer domesticus (Linnaeus 1758) but not Ceratosaurus nasicornis Marsh 1884, Carnotaurus sastrei
Bonaparte 1985.

Yes, I think you're right. Previous definitions of Tetanurae (e.g., Padian et al., 1999; Wilson et al. 2003; Holtz et al. 2004) used only _Ceratosaurus_ as an external specifier. Adding _Carnotaurus_ as an exernal specifier caters for the possibility that ceratosaurids and abelisauroids do not form a clade to the exclusion of birds and other 'traditional' tetanurans. In this situation, the Abelisauroidea would presumably be the sister taxon to Tetanurae. Under this topology, Holtz's (1994) Neoceratosauria (MRCA of _Ceratosaurus_ and Abelisauridae and all its descendents) would therefore include all of Tetanurae too. Sereno (2005) rates Neoceratosauria as 'inactive', and AFAIK has no clade solely for _Ceratosaurus_ and abelisauroids within traditional Ceratosauria (i.e., including coelophysoids), which is strange. He may be assuming that the days of a Coelophysoidea-_Ceratosaurus_-Abelisauroidea clade are numbered. Even though he found such a clade in his _Rugops_/_Spinostropheus_ paper.


Cheers

Tim

_________________________________________________________________
Visit MSN Holiday Challenge for your chance to win up to $50,000 in Holiday cash from MSN today! http://www.msnholidaychallenge.com/index.aspx?ocid=tagline&locale=en-us