Re: Dinosauria---Rejected Name?

[Dinogeorge@aol.com]

In a message dated 2/22/02 6:50:25 PM Pacific Standard Time, 
NJPharris@aol.com writes:

<< There have been a number of replacement names 
 floated; my personal pick is Ornithopsida, a stem-based taxon anchored on 
 modern birds. >>

My preference for the name of this group is simply Ornithes, which is more or 
less Greek for "birds." As I pointed out in my series on BCF in Dino Press 
#4-6, dinosaurs should have been originally classified as birds rather than 
reptiles, since they have more birdlike features than reptilian features. 
Trouble is that paleontologists focused on the plesiomorphic reptilian 
features (e.g., teeth) and not on the apomorphic birdlike features (e.g., 
skeletal pneumaticity, erect stance, foot anatomy), so as a result we must 
fight nearly 200 years of ingrained tradition to get dinosaurs accepted as 
birds.