Birding by Foot: A Critical Look at the Synapomorphy- and Phenetic-Based Approaches to Trackmaker Identification of Enigmatic Tridactyl Mesozoic Traces

摘要: One of the goals vertebrate ichnology is to use trace fossils as an additional source data determine palaeoecological makeup paleoecosystems. The features in both synapomorphy-based and phenetic-based methods attributing a osteologic trackmaker are those that affected by preservational conditions, convergent due size and/or habitat trackmaker, morphologically variable within taxa. Despite drawbacks, phenetic-based, or “gestalt” method, still most comprehensive, if not always synapomorphy-supported, means using largest amount (morphologic behavioral) preserved for identifying tracks avian. To date there too few synapomorphies pedes specific consistently footprints be practical method avian trackmaker. There much more comparative ichnological statistical work done discern novel traits can used deline...