Re: Confuciusornithids are Oviraptorids ;-)

["Steve Brusatte" <dinoland@lycos.com>]

On Sat, 9 Feb 2002 14:49:41   
 David Marjanovic wrote:

>BTW, has someone meanwhile found out who defined Pygostylia when? I haven't. 
>Thanks in advance for info.

Well, David, I don't know if this is exactly what you are looking for, but 
Chiappe (2001) defined the clade in the Ostrom Symposium volume.  He diagnosed 
Pygostylia by using four synapomorphies: the loss of hyposphene-hypantrum 
articulations in the thoracic vertebrae, the presence of a pygostyle (!), the 
presence of a retroverted pubis forming an agle of 65-45 degrees from the main 
synsacral axis, and the presence of a wide and bulbous medial condyle of the 
tibiotarsus.  He puts both the Confuciusornithidae and the Ornithothoraces (as 
sister groups) into the clade.  

I also believe Chatterjee (1997...in his book) may have mentioned a clade 
Pygostylia, but I doubt he defined it.  

Steve


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