The Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Creationism (2018)

positive correlation: 1) derived tyrannosauroids, 2) Xiongguanlong and Eotyrannus , and 3) “basal” coelurosaurs and some “basal” tyrannosauroids. There is positive correlation between Xiongguanlong and Dilong , which is in the third block. The 3D MDS (Fig. 23) shows the same three clusters, but they are positioned relatively close to one another. Bistahieversor and Coelurus are located in unusual spots. We also analyzed a subset of this data for better resolution between “basal” tyrannosauroids and “basal” coelurosaurs, suspecting that the tyrannosaurids may be affecting the observed patterns. This subset included 95 characters and 14 taxa at a 0.25 taxic relevance cutoff (to include as many of these taxa as possible). The BDC results (Fig. 24) show two main blocks of positive correlation separated by negative correlation. One block contains the tyrannosauroids Appalachiosaurus , Xiongguanlong , and Eotyrannus , whereas the other contains the rest of the taxa. Of the larger block of taxa, Guanlong , Dilong , and Zuolong form a distinct block, but Zuolong is also continuous with the larger block of “basal” coelurosaurs. The 3D MDS results (Fig. 25) show clear separation between the small cluster of tyrannosauroids and the other larger cluster. The next Brusatte et al. (2014) subset dataset analyzed was the “basal” coelurosaurs, ornithomimosaurs, and alvarezsauroids (101 characters, 26 taxa, 0.2 taxic relevance cutoff (to preserve as many taxa as possible). The BDC results (Fig. 26) show alvarezsauroids together in a block of positive correlation (except for Haplocheirus ) and separated from all other taxa by negative correlation. The remaining taxa form two blocks of positive correlation, one corresponding to mainly ornithomimosaurs and one to mainly “basal” coelurosaurs. The MDS results (Fig. 27) show a tight clustering of the ornithomimosaurs and “basal” coelurosaurs surrounded by a diffuse cloud of alvarezsauroids. The combination of the BDC and MDS results led us to suspect that removal of the alvarezsaurids from the analysis would probably result in greater resolution for the remaining taxa. The new analysis excluding the alvarezsaurids (107 characters, 23 taxa, 0.2 taxic relevance cutoff) resulted in a BDC (Fig. 28) with two major blocks of positive correlation that share only negative correlation with each other. One block was Ornithomimosauria, and the other block was “basal” coelurosaurs and Haplocheirus . Nqwebasaurus (a possible “basal” ornithomimosaur) does not correlate with any other taxa in the analysis except Coelurus , and Coelurus correlates positively with some “basal” coelurosaurs. The 3D MDS results McLain et al. ◀ Feathered dinosaurs reconsidered ▶ 2018 ICC 484 Adasaurus_mongoliensis Velociraptor_mongoliensis Bambiraptor_feinbergorum Deinonychus_antirrhopus Mahakala_omnogovae Balaur_bondoc Tsaagan_mangas Anchiornis_huxleyi Aurornis Xiaotingia Microraptor_zhaoianus Sinornithosaurus_millenii Buitreraptor_gonzalozorum Mei_long Sinovenator_changii Sinornithoides_youngi Troodon_formosus Zanabazar_junior Archaeopteryx_lithographica Sapeornis Confuciusornis_sanctus Jeholornis_prima Jixiangornis_orientalis Allosaurus_fragilis Sinraptor_dongi Compsognathus_longipes Huaxiagnathus_orientalis Sinosauropteryx_prima Juravenator_starki Sinocalliopteryx Tanycolagreus Ornitholestes_hermanni Zuolong Haplocheirus Falcarius Dilong_paradoxus Guanlong Eotyrannus_lengi Archaeornithomimus_asiaticus Gallimimus_bullatus Struthiomimus_altus Ornithomimus_edmonticus Garudimimus_brevipes Sinornithomimus Harpymimus_okladnikovi Shenzhousaurus_orientalis Mononykus_olecranus Shuvuuia_deserti Erlikosaurus_andrewsi Nothronychus Avimimus_portentosus Caudipteryx_zoui Chirostenotes_pergracilis Citipati_osmolskae Ingenia_yanshani Conchoraptor_gracilis Albertosaurus_sacrophagus Gorgosaurus_libratus Daspletosaurus Bistahieversor Alioramus Tarbosaurus_baatar Tyrannosaurus_rex Xiongguanlong Figure 19. BDC results for subset analysis of Brusatte et al. (2014) missing the definite birds. Black squares indicate significant positive correlation, whereas open circles indicate significant negative correlation. Xiongguanlong Tyrannosaurus rex Tarbosaurusbaatar Aliora us Bistahieversor Daspletosaurus Gorgosaurus libratus Albertosaurus sarcophagus Conchoraptorgracilis Heyuanniayanshani Citipatiosmolskae Chirostenotespergracilis Caudipteryx zoui Avimimusportentosus Nothronychus Erlikosaurusandrewsi Shuvuuiadeserti Mononykusolecranus Shenzhousaurusorientalis Harpymimusokladnikovi Sinornithomimus Garudimimusbrevipes Ornithomimusedmonticus Struthiomimusaltus Gallimimusbullatus Archaeornithomimusasiaticus Eotyrannus lengi Guanlong Dilongparadoxus Falcarius Haplocheirus Zuolong Ornitholesteshermanni Tanycolagreus Sinocalliopteryx Juravenator starki Sinosauropteryxprima Huaxiagnathusorientalis Compsognathus longipes Sinraptordongi Allosaurus fragilis Jixiangornisorientalis Jeholornisprima Confuciusornis sanctus Sapeornis Archaeopteryx lithographica Zanabazar junior Troodon formosus Sinornithoidesyoungi Sinovenator changii Mei long Buitreraptorgonzalozorum Sinornithosaurusmillenii Microraptor zhaoianus Xiaotingia Aurornis Anchiornishuxleyi Tsaaganmangas BalaurBondoc Mahakalaomnogovae Deinonychusantirrhopus Bambiraptor feinbergorum Velociraptormongoliensis Adasaurusmongoliensis