[Taxacom] New systematics book

[Fred Schueler]

On 9/9/2013 10:39 AM, Curtis Clark wrote:
> On 2013-09-09 7:29 AM, Richard Jensen wrote:
>> I agree with Ken.  The expression "Birds are descended from Reptiles" is
>> more informative and interesting than is "Birds are Reptiles."  First, it
>> clearly states an evolutionary hypothesis.  Second, it encourages the
>> reader to consider what lineage of reptiles differentiated into birds and
>> how this happened.
>
> The expression "birds are maniraptoran theropods" is more informative
> than either one (and more easily subject to falsification, however that
> might work in systematics).
>
> And no one (that I know of) says "birds are descended from amniotes" or
> "birds are descended from vertebrates", or even "humans are descended
> from mammals".

* if reptilia is a grade, "Birds are descended from Reptiles" is just a 
way of saying "endothermy is an avian apomorphy."

fred.
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