Re: ok, looks like I got mixed up on Herrerasaurus a few posts back

[Benn Breeden <bbreeden@umd.edu>]

Yes, nowadays I think few would question that Herrerasaurus is a saurischian. 
However, its placement within Saurischia varies widely depending on which 
characters are observed. It does have some superficial similarities with 
theropods; however, there are traits shared by sauropodomorphs and theropods 
(particularly in the manus) that are absent in herrerasaurids, which suggests 
that Herrerasaurus falls basal to a clade comprised of Sauropodomorpha and 
Theropoda. 

I'm partial to this placement of Herrerasauridae as a primitive saurischian 
group, 
but there is plenty of literature out there proposing different placements. 

If you're interested in the anatomy and relationships of primitive dinosaurs, I 
recommend checking out the book 'The Age of Dinosaurs in South America' by 
Fernando Novas. It's very recent and up-to-date (published this year, if memory 
serves me), and it does a great job explaining dinosaurian anatomy in a 
nutshell 
and introducing the different dinosaur groups found in South America (e.g., 
Herrerasauridae). 


Benn Breeden 
Undergraduate Student of Geology 
University of Maryland, College Park 


Benn Breeden
Undergraduate Student of Geology
University of Maryland, College Park

---- Original message ----
>Date: Sun, 4 Oct 2009 12:22:23 -0700 (PDT)
>From: B tH <soylentgreenistrex@yahoo.com>  
>Subject: ok, looks like I got mixed up on Herrerasaurus a few posts back  
>To: dinosaur@usc.edu
>
>So, it's not (thankfully) a sauropodomorph - it is safe to say it's at least a 
saurischian, basal or not?  I obviously don't know the anatomy that makes the 
professionals question exactly where it goes, and mentally I'll consider him a 
theropod ... I just don't want him stuck somewhere close with herbivores. He'd 
have a hard time with a palm leaf with those choppers.  :-)
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