Revised *classification* of Aves

["Ken Kinman" <kinman@hotmail.com>]

Dear All,
      As a followup to my earlier posting this morning, I present below my 
updated classification of Class AVES sensu lato.   It is an apomorphy-based 
taxon that is *approximately* equivalent to Sereno's "Maniraptora" (but he 
excluded Mononykiformes).  It is more restricted than the official 
stem-based Maniraptora (which probably includes segnosaurians, Coelurus, and 
Alvarezsaurus).  And since most birds do not "manuraptor" their food, it is 
certainly a totally inappropriate name for the entire Class anyway.  What 
was once called Aves is virtually identical to the cladistic Avialae (which 
begins at Rahonavis or Archaeopterygidae; i.e. node 6 or 7 in Order 
Archaeopterygiformes below).
     Plesion Alvarezsaurus is joining segnosauria as being preliminarily 
ejected from Class Aves.  If there is any really good evidence that it 
belongs in Class Aves, I would like to hear of it.  Alvarezsaurus appears to 
be an ornithomime-segnosaurian "grade" form, along with Coelurus.
      Also note that I have added more plesia to Order Archaeopterygiformes 
and to the euornithes clade.  And Bagaraatan has been added as well.  Order 
Caenagnathiformes has been tightened up a bit.  (Once again note that Pl. is 
my abbreviation for Plesion):
*****************************************
CLASS AVEA (AVES)
1  Plesion Protarchaeopteryx
?  Pl. Caudipteryx
2  Caenagnathiformes Cracraft, 1971
        1  Pl. Microvenator
        2  Pl. Nomingia
        3  Caenagnathidae
        4  Oviraptoridae
?  Pl. Avimimidae
3  Mononykiformes Kinman, 1994
        1  Patagonykidae
        2  Parvicursoridae
        3  Mononykidae
?  Pl. Bagaraatan
4  Pl. Troodontidae
5  Archaeopterygiformes
        1  "utahraptorid" family
        2  Pl. Pyroraptor
        3  Pl. Bambiraptor
        B  Velociraptoridae
        C  Dromaeosauridae
        4  Pl. Sinornithosaurus
        ?  Pl. Unenlagia
        5  Pl. Microraptor
        6  Pl. Rahonavis
        7  Archaeopterygidae
        8  Yandangornithidae
        9  Pl. Sapeornis
       10  Confuciusornithidae
      11  Pl. Protopteryx
      12  Longipterygidae
      13  Pl. Jibeina
       ?  Pl. Hulsanpes
       14  Pl. Boluochia
       B  Iberomesornithidae
      15  Enantiornithidae
       B  Gobipterygidae
       16  {{Euornithes}} (Vorona, etc.)
_1_ Plesion Vorona
 2  Patagopterygiformes
 ?  Pl. Yanornis
 3  Chaoyangiiformes
 4  Pl. Apsaravis
 5  Hesperornithiformes
 6  Ambiortiformes
 7  Ichthyornithiformes
 8  Pl. Limenavis
 9  Lithornithiformes
10  Tinamiformes
_a_ Struthioniformes (ratites)
11  Galliformes
         .....other neognath orders
------------------------------------------



_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp.