Sengis (was RE: Pterosaur diversity (was: Re: Waimanu))

["Thomas R. Holtz, Jr." <tholtz@geol.umd.edu>]

> From: owner-DINOSAUR@usc.edu [mailto:owner-DINOSAUR@usc.edu]On Behalf Of
> Tim Williams
>
> Nick Pharris wrote:
>
> >>I know there was a study by Hone et al. (2005) which claimed to show that
> >>most dinosaurian lineages got larger over time.  But if you dig a little
> >>deeper, the evidence is actually rather weak.  The same is true of most of
> >>the attempts to demonstrate Cope's rule in other lineages, with horses
> >>being the most (in)famous example.  Stephen Jay Gould called Cope's rule a
> >>"psychological artifact".
> >
> >After all, look what's happened to elephant shrews over the years.
>
> OK, I've racked my brains and I still can't figure it out... Nick, what
> happened to elephant shrews?

Sengis (the newer preferred vernacular name for "elephant shrews") have been 
allied with Insectivora (in the classic sense), Glires,
Ungulates (in the classic sense), and primates. Molecular data strongly support 
them as afrotheres.

http://www.calacademy.org/research/bmammals/eshrews/synopsis.html

                Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
        Senior Lecturer, Vertebrate Paleontology
Department of Geology           Director, Earth, Life & Time Program
University of Maryland          College Park Scholars
        Mailing Address:
                Building 237, Room 1117
                College Park, MD  20742

http://www.geol.umd.edu/~tholtz/
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