Consensus

https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/~scranmer/SPD/crichton.html

"I want to pause here and talk about this notion of consensus, and the rise of what has been called consensus science. I regard consensus science as an extremely pernicious development that ought to be stopped cold in its tracks. Historically, the claim of consensus has been the first refuge of scoundrels; it is a way to avoid debate by claiming that the matter is already settled. Whenever you hear the consensus of scientists agrees on something or other, reach for your wallet, because you're being had.
Let's be clear: the work of science has nothing whatever to do with consensus. Consensus is the business of politics. Science, on the contrary, requires only one investigator who happens to be right, which means that he or she has results that are verifiable by reference to the real world. In science consensus is irrelevant. What is relevant is reproducible results. The greatest scientists in history are great precisely because they broke with the consensus.
There is no such thing as consensus science. If it's consensus, it isn't science. If it's science, it isn't consensus. Period.
In addition, let me remind you that the track record of the consensus is nothing to be proud of." 

A lecture by Michael Crichton Caltech Michelin Lecture January 17, 2003

Characters

Here is an accumulation of information related to characters analyzed in Nesbitt (2011) and Nesbitt et al (2009). These support the pterosaur to bird theory and contradict the dino to bird theory. This section is a work in progress.


NESBITT (2011) 

Nesbitt characters 212, 213, 214, 223, 230, 231 and 370.

212. Forelimb–hind limb, length ratio: (0) more than 0.55; (1) less than 0.55 (Gauthier,

1984; Sereno, 1991a; Juul, 1994; Benton, 1999).

Humerus + radius [forelimb] : Femur + tibia [hindlimb]

SEE REFERENCE IN DINOSAURIA (page 204):

Dromaeosaurid forelimbs are among the longest in theropods, the ratio of forelimb length to hindlimb length being about 65% in Velociraptor, 70% in Deinonychus and 80% in Sinornithosaurus.

It seems that Nesbitt scored the Velociraptor incorrectly as (1).
Note that Velocirptor and Deinonychus are terrestrial, secondarily flightless members of Paraves.

213. Clavicles: (0) present and unfused; (1) fused into a furcula (modified from Gauthier, 1986; Sereno, 1991a; Benton, 1999; Benton and Walker, 2002). Clavicles are present in non-archosaurian archosauriforms and basal crocodylian-line archosaurs. Clavicles are not present in crocodylomorphs (e.g., Hesperosuchus ‘‘agilis,’’ CM 29894; Protosuchus richardsoni, AMNH FR 3024) and, therefore, they are scored as inapplicable. Like the interclavicle, the clavicles of the pterosaur Eudimorphodon are separate ossifications in a small specimen and incorporated into the sternum (Wild, 1993). All other pterosaurs seem to lack distinct ossifications of the clavicles. Within Dinosauria, clavicles are present, but do not contact in some ornithischians (e.g., Psittacosaurus) and are unossified in others (Butler et al., 2008a). The clavicles of some nonsauropod sauropodomorphs (e.g., Massospondylus) may contact each other at the midline, but do not fuse (Yates and Vasconcelos, 2005). A furcula (fused clavicles) is present in nearly all theropods known from complete skeletons including Coelophysis bauri (AMNH FR 30647; Rinehart et al., 2007; Nesbitt et al., 2009d) and Allosaurus fragilis (UUVP 6102; Chure and Madsen, 1996). This character has been employed by various datasets exploring theropod relationships (e.g., Norell et al., 2001; Clarke, 2004).

Pterosaurs have clavicles and an interclavicle that are fused into the sternum.



214. Interclavicle: (0) present; (1) absent
(fig. 30) (Gauthier, 1986; Sereno, 1991a; Juul,
1994; Benton, 1999).
The interclavicle is present in archosauriforms
plesiomorphically (Sereno, 1991a) and
persists through Pseudosuchia. In Pterosauria,
an interclavicle appears to be present
in young individuals of Eudimorphodon
(MCSNB 8950), but fuse to the pectoral
elements in larger individuals (Wild, 1993). A
distinct interclavicle is not present in all other
pterosaurs. Ornithischians and saurischians
lack an interclavicle. However, the pectoral
girdles in the successive sister taxa to
Dinosauria (Silesaurus, Marasuchus, Lagerpeton)
do not have the pectoral region
completely preserved. As a result, the optimization
of this character within Dinosauromorpha
is not clear.

SEE REFERENCE IN DINOSAURIA (page 204)

Also from Nesbitt et al (2009) (page 872):

The evolutionary transformation of the furcula
from separate clavicles is nicely illustrated in
archosaurs and their close relatives. Euparkeria
capensis and early pseudosuchians retain both the
interclavicle and clavicles. The interclavicle is lost
at the dinosaur node or at an unknown node
among early dinosauromorphs. From there, the origin
of the furcula is well understood with the
addition of the work on basal sauropodomorphs of
Yates and Vasconcelos (2005) and the discovery of
furculae in early coelophysoid theropods (Tykoski
et al., 2002; Rinehart et al., 2007). Some ornithischians
have two small clavicles that do not
contact each other (Osborn, 1924a; Brown and
Schlaikjer, 1940; Sternberg, 1951; Chinnery and
Weishampel, 1998). In contrast, saurischians
retain clavicles with the clavicles contacting at the
midline.

Birds and pterosaurs have an interclavicle. Dinosaurs do not.

223. Coracoid, postglenoid process: (0) short; (1) elongate and expanded posteriorly only 

The significance of this is that a longer coracoid allows the bird scapula (attached to the coracoid) to be positioned high enough on the body (horizontally), to allow flapping (by the wings being raised high enough up).

Birds are like pterosaurs and not like dinosaurs.

230. Humerus, apex of deltopectoral crest situated at a point corresponding to: (0) less than 30% down the length of the humerus; (1) more than 30% down the length of the humerus (fig. 31) (modified from Bakker and Galton, 1974; Benton, 1990a; Juul, 1994; Novas, 1996; Benton, 1999).
Langer and Benton (2006) thoroughly discussed the distribution of the character states of this character and find that state (1) is restricted to dinosaurs within Archosauria. Here, I follow the conclusions and scorings of Langer and Benton (2006). 

The pterosaur deltopectoral crest is like birds. The dinosaur deltopectoral crest is not like birds. (See details below).



231. Humerus, length: (0) longer than or
subequal to 0.6 of the length of the femur; (1)
shorter than 0.6 of the length of the femur
(modified from Novas, 1996; Langer and
Benton, 2006).
Langer and Benton (2006) thoroughly
discussed the distribution of the character
states and find that state (1) is restricted to
Herrerasaurus (PVSJ 373), Eoraptor (PVSJ
512), and neotheropods.

Humerus length compared to femur length is similar for pterosaurs to birds but different than dinosaurs.



370. Astragalus-calcaneum, articulation:
(0) free; (1) coossified (fig. 46) (Sereno and
Arcucci, 1994a; Irmis et al., 2007a).
In most archosauriforms, save avians and
close relatives, the astragalus and calcaneum
are separate elements. In pterosaurs (e.g.,
Dimorphodon, YPM 9182), Lagerpeton (PVL
4619), and Dromomeron romeri (GR 223), the
astragalus and calcaneum are coossified.
Among basal dinosaurs, the proximal tarsals
are coossified in Heterodontosaurus (SAMPK-
1332) and coelophysoids (Rowe and
Gauthier, 1990; Tykoski, 2005b).

More info on the deltopectoral crest.

http://palaeos.com/vertebrates/glossary/glossaryD.html

Deltopectoral crest: a longitudinal ridge or crest on the (proximal) humerus. See figure. Cursorial forms typically do nothave a large crest. It is typically an important attachment point for adductors, rather than retractors.

http://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/category/pterosaur-evolution

"Both tiny birds and tiny pterosaurs dispensed with their long stiff tail. In birds it became a pygostyle. In pterosaurs the long stiff tail became a reduced, string-like tail with bead-like verts. Note the similarities in the pectoral girdles. Both could stand with their toes beneath their shoulder glenoids. Both had retroverted pedal digits but of two distinct designs. The anterior ilium of both taxa supported large thigh muscles. A large deltopectoral crest supported large flight adductors anchored to the sternum."

http://palaeos.com/vertebrates/glossary/glossaryD.html

Deltopectoral crest: a longitudinal ridge or crest on the (proximal) humerus. Cursorial forms typically do not have a large crest. It is typically an important attachment point for adductors, rather than retractors.

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution_of_dinosaurs

Dinosaurs evolved within a single lineage of archosaurs 232-234 Ma (million years ago) in the Ladinian age, the latter part of the middle Triassic. Dinosauria is a well-supported clade, present in 98% of bootstraps. It is diagnosed by many features including loss of the postfrontal on the skull and an ELONGATE deltopectoral crest on the humerus.[1]

The Dinosauria: Second Edition:

The humerus is slender and twisted. It has a caudally deflected proximal end and a moderately developed deltopectoral crest that is restricted to the PROXIMAL third of the humerus in Deinonychus and to the PROXIMAL quarter in Velociraptor.

https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/2015/03/06/problem-the-scansoriopteryx-pelvis-and-humerus/

The deltopectoral crest on most dinosaurs, including Archaeopteryx (Fig. 1), is prominent and extends down a quarter of the humerus. We don’t see this in Scansioropteryx (Fig. 3). But then again, we don’t see this in Aurornis (Fig. 4) either. That doesn’t delete them from the theropod clade because every other aspect of their anatomy says: theropod!

https://pterosaurheresies.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/aurornis-humerus.jpg

http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0001-37652009000400017&lng=es&nrm=iso&tlng=es

Pterosaur humerus:

Description: The specimen MB.R. 2828 (Fig. 2; Table I) has a slightly dorso-ventral compression, showing several fractures. It possesses the characteristic saddle-shaped proximal articular head, common to the pterosaur humeri. The deltopectoral crest is well developed and inclined proximoventrally. It is tongue-shaped with a rounded distal end. In lateral view the proximal margin of the deltopectoral crest is markedly concave, while the distal margin is straight. There is an elongated ridge on the medial side of the crest running from the distal to the proximal edge, and is likely an attachment of a flight muscle (m. pectoralis, see Bennett 2003). There is an elongated concavity on the medial side, close to the distal margin, whose function is unknown. The ulnar crest is blunt and slightly crushed laterally. The dorsal margin shows a well developed pneumatic foramen, located close to the lateral side.

https://books.google.ca/books?id=8CKYxcylOycC&pg=PA117&lpg=PA117&dq=rhamphorhynchus+deltopectoral+crest&source=bl&ots=SqlXdvwI83&sig=2eO8UZBiUTQPDTye_KvTu59iYQw&hl=en&sa=X&ei=MQuQVd_BKpGGNsCtifgC&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=rhamphorhynchus%20deltopectoral%20crest&f=false
See page 117.

It appears that the pterosaur deltopectoral crest differed between the long-bony-tailed pterosaurs and the short-bony-tailed pterosaurs.
In both cases they were confined to close to the proximal end of the humerus. But the deltopectoral crest in the long-bony-tailed pterosaurs was much smaller.

The deltopectoral crest in the primitive birds was close to the proximal end and relatively small.
In contrast the deltopectoral crest in dinosaurs was elongate. It was not confined to the proximal end of the humerus.



http://courses.washington.edu/chordate/453photos/skeleton_photos/bird-humeri.jpg

Miscellaneous bird humeri (proximal heads to the left). The top 2 face anteriorly & the bottom 3 face posteriorly.

Notice the bird deltopectoral crest is confined to the proximal end as in pterosaurs.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinosaur#Distinguishing_anatomical_features

apex of deltopectoral crest (a projection on which the deltopectoral muscles attach) located at or more than 30% down the length of the humerus (upper arm bone)

Notice the dinosaur deltopectoral crest is not confined to the proximal end as in birds and pterosaurs. It is elongate.

NESBITT (2009) 

11. Furcula shape in anterior view: asymmetrical (0) or symmetrical/nearly symmetrical (1). The furculae of most nonparavian theropods are markedly asymmetrical (e.g., Allosaurus, Citipati). The furculae of paravians, with the exception of Buitreraptor, are nearly symmetrical. It is unclear if the asymmetry of the furcula of Buitreraptor was the result of taphonomy or represents morphological asymmetry.

We see that the dinosaur furcula is not like the Paravian furcula.
That supports the conclusion that they are not related.

Also see (page 77)
http://books.google.ca/books?id=8QRKV7eSqmIC&pg=PA77&lpg=PA77&dq=oviraptor+furcula&source=bl&ots=fqQ1dMcCAm&sig=Mh6VWAuDyk92AmCENy_FFdCRvn0&hl=en&sa=X&ei=g-t4U96CENKdyASEzYDYAw&ved=0CGAQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=oviraptor%20furcula&f=false

THE EARLY EVOLUTION OF ARCHOSAURS:
RELATIONSHIPS AND THE ORIGIN OF
MAJOR CLADES 92011)

The character states supporting pterosaurs
as members of Archosauria and Ornithodira
are not restricted to character states related
to locomotion as suggested by Bennett
(1996). As demonstrated in the list above,
the character states cover features present all
over the body, not just in the hind limb.
Furthermore, it is difficult to argue that the
restricted number of tarsals, the size of the
distal tarsals, and the shape of the proximal
tarsals in pterosaurs would be convergent
with those of dinosauromorphs based on
function alone (Sereno 1991a). In summary,
Pterosauromorpha is well supported as the
sister taxon to Dinosauromorpha.

Pneumatic (air-filled) postcranial bones

We see that the postcranial bones of pterosaurs, secondarily flightless maniraptors and birds are pneumatic.
Coelurosaur dinosaurs did not have pneumatic postcranial bones.

http://www.oucom.ohiou.edu/dbms-ocon...eumaticity.pdf

Pneumatic (air-filled) postcranial bones are unique to birds among extant tetrapods. Unambiguous skeletal correlates of postcranial pneumaticity first appeared in the Late Triassic (approximately 210 million years ago), when they evolved independently in several groups of bird-line archosaurs (ornithodirans). These include the theropod dinosaurs [maniraptors] (of which birds are extant representatives), the pterosaurs, and sauropodomorph dinosaurs. [Note that sauropodomorph dinosaurs are not claimed to be on the purported line leading to birds]. Increases in skeletal pneumaticity occurred independently in as many as 12 lineages, highlighting a remarkably high number of parallel acquisitions of a bird-like feature among non-avian theropods.  However, the body size threshold for extensive pneumatisation is lower in theropod lineages more closely related to birds (maniraptorans). Thus, relaxation of the relationship between body size and pneumatisation preceded the origin of birds and cannot be explained as an adaptation for flight. We hypothesise that skeletal density modulation in small, non-volant, maniraptorans resulted in energetic savings as part of a multi-system response to increased metabolic demands. Acquisition of extensive postcranial pneumaticity in small-bodied maniraptorans may indicate avian-like high-performance endothermy.

There are two possible explanations about how these maniraptors could be non-volant.

One is the way purported by the dino to bird theory (they are purported to be intermediate between dinosaur and Paraves). That fails because they came millions of years later.

The other is as secondarily flightless. And being secondarily flightless, they would have inherited their pneumaticity from their flying paravian ancestors. Their pneumaticity was to accommodate air sacs which is part of the unique breathing system that pterosaurs had and birds have.
So that explains the "postcranial pneumaticity in small-bodied maniraptorans". They evolved from flying paraves which had evolved from pterosaurs.

Also see:
http://pterosaurnet.blogspot.ca/2010/05/another-thing-to-watch-for.html
and
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/science/profiles/wedel_0609.php
and
http://pterosaurnet.blogspot.ca/2011/11/breathing-pterosaurs-are-like-birds.html

Body size and forelimb length

Bird-like characteristics are found in basal Paraves. They are not found in dinosaurs.
That is because basal paraves are not descended from dinosaurs. They are descended from pterosaurs.

Let's look at body size and forelimb length.
Notice that the changes appear for the first time at the origin of Paraves (not earlier).

http://www.bris.ac.uk/news/2014/february/origin-of-birds.html

HIGH RATES OF EVOLUTION PRECEDED THE ORIGIN OF BIRDS

Mark Puttick and colleagues investigated the rates of evolution of the two key characteristics that preceded flight: body size and forelimb length.  In order to fly, hulking meat-eating dinosaurs had to shrink in size and grow much longer arms to support their feathered wings. 

"We were really surprised to discover that the key size shifts happened at the same time, at the origin of Paraves," said Mr Puttick of Bristol's School of Earth Sciences.  "This was at least 20 million years before the first bird, the famous Archaeopteryx, and it shows that flight in birds arose through several evolutionary steps." 

Being small and light is important for a flyer, and it now seems a whole group of dozens of little dinosaurs were lightweight and had wings of one sort or another. Most were gliders or parachutists, spreading their feathered wings, but not flapping them.                                               

'High rates of evolution preceded the origin of birds' by Puttick, M.N., Thomas, G.H., and Benton, M.J. in Evolution: DOI: 10.1111/evo.12363

The origin of birds (Aves) is one of the great evolutionary transitions. Fossils show that many unique morphological features of modern birds, such as feathers, reduction in body size, and the semilunate carpal, long preceded the origin of clade Aves, but some may be unique to Aves, such as relative elongation of the forelimb. We study the evolution of body size and forelimb length across the phylogeny of coelurosaurian theropods and Mesozoic Aves. Using recently developed phylogenetic comparative methods, we find an increase in rates of body size and body size dependent forelimb evolution leading to small body size relative to forelimb length in Paraves, the wider clade comprising Aves and Deinonychosauria. The high evolutionary rates arose primarily from a reduction in body size, as there were no increased rates of forelimb evolution. In line with a recent study, we find evidence that Aves appear to have a unique relationship between body size and forelimb dimensions. Traits associated with Aves evolved before their origin, at high rates, and support the notion that numerous lineages of paravians were experimenting with different modes of flight through the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous.

Note that in the following two references the researchers are working within the dino to bird paradigm. To make the evidence fit the theory they are also forced to claim improbable rates of evolution.

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/345/6196/562
Mike Lee et al

Sustained miniaturization and anatomical innovation in the dinosaurian ancestors of birds

Recent discoveries have highlighted the dramatic evolutionary transformation of massive, ground-dwelling theropod dinosaurs into light, volant birds. Here, we apply Bayesian approaches (originally developed for inferring geographic spread and rates of molecular evolution in viruses) in a different context: to infer size changes and rates of anatomical innovation (across up to 1549 skeletal characters) in fossils. These approaches identify two drivers underlying the dinosaur-bird transition. The theropod lineage directly ancestral to birds undergoes sustained miniaturization across 50 million years and at least 12 consecutive branches (internodes) and evolves skeletal adaptations four times faster than other dinosaurs. The distinct, prolonged phase of miniaturization along the bird stem would have facilitated the evolution of many novelties associated with small body size, such as reorientation of body mass, increased aerial ability, and paedomorphic skulls with reduced snouts but enlarged eyes and brains.

                                       

AND

http://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822(14)01047-1
Stephen Brusatte et al
Gradual Assembly of Avian Body Plan Culminated in Rapid Rates of Evolution across the Dinosaur-Bird Transition

The evolution of birds from theropod dinosaurs was one of the great evolutionary transitions in the history of life [ 1–22 ]. The macroevolutionary tempo and mode of this transition is poorly studied, which is surprising because it may offer key insight into major questions in evolutionary biology, particularly whether the origins of evolutionary novelties or new ecological opportunities are associated with unusually elevated “bursts” of evolution [ 23, 24 ]. We present a comprehensive phylogeny placing birds within the context of theropod evolution and quantify rates of morphological evolution and changes in overall morphological disparity across the dinosaur-bird transition. Birds evolved significantly faster than other theropods, but they are indistinguishable from their closest relatives in morphospace. Our results demonstrate that the rise of birds was a complex process: birds are a continuum of millions of years of theropod evolution, and there was no great jump between nonbirds and birds in morphospace, but once the avian body plan was gradually assembled, birds experienced an early burst of rapid anatomical evolution. This suggests that high rates of morphological evolution after the development of a novel body plan may be a common feature of macroevolution, as first hypothesized by G.G. Simpson more than 60 years ago [ 25 ]. 

Harry Govier Seeley - Pterosaurs to Birds

The idea that birds are descended from pterosaurs has an interesting history. The idea was proposed by Harry Govier Seeley. But note the negative reaction he received. Not much has changed in that respect.

http://www.strangescience.net/seeley.htm

Seeley was also an authority of pterosaurs, and in 1901 published a popular book on the subject, Dragons of the Air. In it, he gave an overview of animal flight, reptiles, the discovery of pterosaurs and pterosaur skeletal structure. He initially believed that birds descended from pterosaurs, but under intense criticism from his peers, backed off this assertion and argued that they shared common ancestry. "It would therefore appear from the vital community of structures with Birds, that Pterodactyles and Birds are two parallel groups, which may be regarded as ancient divergent forks of the same branch of animal life," he wrote. 

                               

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Govier_Seeley

His popular book on Pterosaurs, Dragons of the Air (1901) found that birds and pterosaurs are closely parallel. His belief that they had a common origin has been proved, for both are archosaurs, just not as close as he thought.

I suggest that pterosaurs and birds are as close as Seeley thought. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ornithodesmus

Ornithodesmus (meaning "bird link") is a genus of small, deinonychosaurian dinosaur from the Isle of Wight in England, dating to about 125 million years ago. The name was originally assigned [by Harry Govier Seeley] to a bird-like sacrum (a series of vertebrae fused to the hip bones), initially believed to come from a pterosaur. More complete pterosaur remains were later assigned to Ornithodesmus, until recently a detailed analysis determined that the original specimen in fact came from a small theropod, specifically a dromaeosaur. All pterosaurian material previously assigned to this genus has been renamed Istiodactylus.

http://www.wired.com/2010/12/written-in-stone-excerpt/all/

By the 1840s, however, there was little doubt that Cuvier had been correct, and some naturalists were very impressed by resemblances between the skeletons of the flying fiends [pterosaurs] and birds. As Richard Owen stated in an 1874 monograph of Mesozoic fossil reptiles:

Every bone in the Bird was antecedently present in the framework of the Pterodactyle; the resemblance of that portion directly subservient to flight is closer in the naked one to that in the feathered flier than it is to the forelimb of the terrestrial or aquatic reptile.

Just like Owen, Seeley saw no way to “evolve an ostrich out of an Iguanodon,” but Huxley turned the argument from convergence against his opponents. The traits supposedly shared between birds and pterosaurs had to do with flight, and given that both lineages had become adapted to flying, common traits in their skeletons were to be expected. The diagnostic traits in the hips, legs, and feet of dinosaurs, on the other hand,were found in all birds, not just ground-dwelling ones. This meant that these characters marked a true family relationship and not just a shared way of life.

Hyposphene-hypantrum articulations

Dinosaurs had hyposphene-hypantrum articulations. Basal Paraves did not.  

DINOSAURS

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyposphene

The hyposphene-hypantrum articulation is an accessory joint found in the vertebrae of several fossil reptiles of the group Archosauromorpha. It consists of a process on the backside of the vertebrae, the hyposphene, that fits in a depression in the front side of the next vertebrae, the hypantrum. Hyposphene-hypantrum articulations occur in the dorsal vertebrae and sometimes also in the posteriormost cervical and anteriormost caudal vertebrae.^[1]

Hyposphene-hypantrum articulations were present in the derived and birdlike dromaeosaurid Rahonavis, but are lost [not present] in modern day's birds, probably due to their highly modified vertebrae.^[4]

Early Dinosauromorphs (early ancestors of dinosaurs) like Marasuchus, Lagosuchus and Euparkeria as well as ornithischian dinosaurs lack hyposphene-hypantrum articulations. Because these articulations are absent in both saurischian ancestors and all non-saurischian dinosaurs, they are considered a synapomorphy (a distinctive feature) of the Saurischia, as proposed by Gauthier (1986).^[4] Hyposphene-hypantrum articulations are found in all the basal members of the Saurischia.^[5] However, they became lost in several saurischian lineages. They were present in the derived and birdlike dromaeosaurid Rahonavis, but are lost in modern day's birds, probably due to their highly modified vertebrae.^[4] Within the Sauropodomorpha, they were present in prosauropods and most sauropods, but became independently lost in two cretaceous sauropod lineages, the Titanosauria and the Rebbachisauridae.^[1][3]

BASAL PARAVES 

http://dml.cmnh.org/2008Sep/msg00563.html

Avialan characters of scansoriopterygids include: Hyposphene-hypantrum articulations in trunk vertebrae absent (according to Senter).

BIRDS

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pygostylia

Chiappe (2001) united the Pygostylia in possessing four unambiguous synapomorphies. The trait that gives the group its name is the presence of a pygostyle. Next is the absence of a hyposphene-hypantrum. Next is a retroverted pubis separated from the main axis of the sacrum by an angle of 45 to 65 degrees. Last is a bulbous medial condyle of the tibiotarsus.

Caudal Rods (2)

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1755-6724.12009/abstract

In the tails of dromaeosaurid dinosaurs and rhamphorhynchid pterosaurs, elongate osteological rods extend anteriorly from the chevrons and the prezygapophyses. These caudal rods are positioned in parallel and are stacked dorsoventrally.

And caudal muscles:
http://pterosaur-net.blogspot.ca/2013/01/guest-post-dragon-tails-what-pterosaurs.html

Remember the quickly reduced neural spines, caudal ribs, and chevrons? Those all indicate that the caudal muscles of both dromaeosaurids and pterosaurs were substantially reduced.

The basal paraves Scansoriopteryx also had caudal rods.

That is very strong evidence for the pterosaur to bird theory. 


http://pterosaur-net.blogspot.ca/2013/01/guest-post-dragon-tails-what-pterosaurs.html

PTEROSAUR

The tails of pterosaurs and dromaeosaurids are so similar that, in the fossil-forging black-markets of China, the tail of one is often used to “complete” a partial skeleton of the other. Skeletal image of Rhamphorhynchus courtesy of Scott Hartman (www.skeletaldrawing.com).

For comparison:

VELOCIRAPTOR

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/86/Tyrannosaurus_muscle_mass.png/255px-Tyrannosaurus_muscle_mass.png

Fourth trochanter on femur:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_trochanter

The fourth trochanter is a shared characteristic common to archosaurs. It is a knob-like feature on the posterior-medial side of the middle of the femur shaft that serves as a muscle attachment, mainly for the Musculus caudofemoralis longus, the main retractor tail muscle that pulls the thighbone to the rear.

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/taxa/ve...rchosauria.php

Also, a large process on the shaft of the [archosuar] femur, the fourth trochanter, served as the attachment point for major tail muscles, the caudofemoralis group of thigh retracting muscles.

http://pterosaur-net.blogspot.ca/201...terosaurs.html

It is now also possible to think a step further and consider the muscles of the tail. Let’s first try to do that in very general qualitative terms. Remember the quickly reduced neural spines, caudal ribs, and chevrons? Those all indicate that the caudal muscles of both dromaeosaurids and pterosaurs were substantially reduced.
To help consider the problem quantitatively, a technique I used was to create digital models of the tail skeleton of a Velociraptor and a Rhamphorhynchus (a pterosaur) and to sculpt the corresponding muscles over the skeletal models. The results of this modeling concur with the qualitative inference. In particular, raptors and pterosaurs were found to have very weak caudofemoral muscles (indeed, some pterosaurs may not have had caudofemoral muscles at all).

https://books.google.ca/books?id=2MQ...hanter&f=false

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the [paravian] primitive fourth trochanter present in archosaurs, dinosaurs and theropods was much reduced