Haplocheirus and Gregory S. Paul

[Mark Pauline <markpauline@rocketmail.com>]

The analyses of Haplocheirus that I've read focus on dispelling any vestiges of 
the "temporal paradox". It occurred to me, though, that this animal also has 
strong implications for Birds Come First or modified BCF hypotheses (like 
Gliding Paravians Come First).

Since Haplocheirus is a basal maniraptoran and 160 million years old, and since 
it is primitive, primitively big, and has no aerodynamic features, it seems to 
constrain the phylogentic node at which there could have been a flying ancestor 
for maniraptorans. It seems that the basalmost ancestor that could have been 
volant or glissant is above the Alvarezsauridae node. The basalmost 
Therizinosauroid, Falcarius, and the basalmost Oviraptorosaurid, 
Incisivosaurus, also seem to be primitively big and non - aerodynamic. This 
suggests that the most primitive maniraptorans that could glide or fly were 
paravians, and we have basal members of each of the three main paravian 
lineages to prove that they did, all from the Jurassic or Early Cretaceous.

I wonder if Gregory Paul, who deserves enormous credit for deducing that 
advanced maniraptorans seemed to have aerodynamic ancestors, would agree that 
what I've suggested here is the most parsimonious conclusion in light of the 
exhilarating new evidence from the last two years.