Table of Contents (click to expand) What the Heck is a Dinosaur? How Are Biological Groups Defined? Back to Dinosaurs… Birds are descendants of carnivorous dinosaurs, which technically means they are part of the Dinosauria group.
The peregrine falcon is the fastest living animal, reaching speeds of over 325 km/h.
So, according to the phrase “all genera,” birds are also part of the group Dinosauria, and are, in fact, a type of dinosaur.
Quick question… What is the fastest living animal on Earth?
The technically correct answer is a man (or a monkey) in a rocket, but if you said that, you’re a bit of a pedantic bore.
No, I don’t care if it’s technically correct, because that’s not the answer I’m looking for.
The most common answer is a cheetah, obviously, but unfortunately that’s also wrong.
“Now, wait a minute,” he says, “I’ve had my share of general knowledge at school and I know for a fact that nothing can run faster than a leopard.” Yes, you’re right, nothing can run as fast as a cheetah, which makes it the fastest animal on Earth right now, not the fastest in history.
This is because running is not the only way to get from one place to another, so it turns out that the fastest living animal (besides humans) is a flying dinosaur.
The dinosaurs must be extinct.
Dinosaurs are actually very alive and thriving, and can be found all over the world.
To answer how this can happen, we need to ask a very important question.
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What is a Dinosaur?
A dinosaur is a member of a biological group (or clade) called Dinosauria, which means “ugly lizards”.
The term is misleading, as dinosaurs were warm-blooded and capable of social interaction, unlike modern reptiles.
Dinosauria itself has two suborders, Saurischia and Ornithischia.
Ornithischia is made up of extinct beaked, herbivorous dinosaurs such as triceratops and stegosaurus.
Ornithischia means “bird-clipped”, a name given to them because their beaks resemble those of birds.
This is ironic, because it was another group, the Saurischia (“coated lizard”) that gave rise to modern birds.
Saurischia is a diverse group of animals.
All carnivorous dinosaurs belong to this group, as do sauropods, which were giant long-necked predators like allosaurus and brachiosaurus.
The combined size of the Universe That still doesn’t answer the question of how dinosaurs are still alive, does it?
Well, the problem starts with how the team is technically defined.
Also Read: Are Birds Really Reptiles? How Are Biological Groups Defined?
We all know that new species are formed by dividing old, now extinct species and grouping related species together as a group.
Now, biology dictates that all offspring of a species belong to the same group as the species itself.
In fact, this is how a group is defined.
For example, the group of great apes (Hominidae) is defined as including orangutans, humans, their most recent ancestor (MRCA) and all descendants of this ancestor.
This is because orangutans are our most distant ape relatives, even more distant than gorillas and chimpanzees.
Thus, the MRCA represents the species where the orangutan line diverged from the line of gorillas, chimpanzees and humans, so by including all its descendants, we ensure that all members of the group are more closely related than any other animal. outside the group.
Imagine if we were to exclude humans from this group of great apes.
Chimpanzees are more closely related to humans than gorillas and orangutans.
Thus a group containing chimpanzees, but not humans, makes no sense.
Blue and Orange: Active teams.
That’s why we have the “all interest” clause going; it makes more sense.
Also read: What is a Pterodactyl? Back to Dinosaurs… Now, remember how we said that the group Saurischia gave rise to modern birds?
Yes, birds are actually descendants of carnivorous dinosaurs like Tyrannosaurus Rex and Velociraptors.
Yes, birds are actually descendants of carnivorous dinosaurs like Tyrannosaurus Rex and Velociraptors.
Therefore, according to the phrase “all genera,” birds are also part of the group Dinosauria.
Yes, of course, birds are not from dinosaurs, they are actually dinosaurs.
Because birds belong to the group Saurischia, the common sparrow is closely related to T.
Rex than T.
Rex is related to triceratops and stegosaurus, both genetically and physically.
Rex and stegosaurus.
Also, popular movies have distorted our perception of what dinosaurs look like.
Photo: Imdb Because all we have of ancient dinosaurs (scientists now call them non-avian dinosaurs, as in non-avian dinosaurs) are bones, for years we didn’t know what their skin was like.
Now, however, it is widely accepted that non-avian dinosaurs, such as microraptors, also had feathers and exhibited remarkable bird-like behavior.
Going back to the question we asked at the beginning, the fastest animal in the world is a bird – the peregrine falcon – that dives from the surface to catch other birds and can reach a speed of more than 325 km/h in those dives.
Now, you can think of this as just a gimmick, all I’m saying is that a world where the fastest animal is a dinosaur that hunts other dinosaurs by swooping down on them from above and grabbing them with their claws is a world I would like to live in.
Can you answer a few questions based on the article you just read?
Your Answers
References (click to enlarge)Dinosaur – Wikipedia.
University of California Museum of Paleontology Share This Article Recommended Reading What It’s Like to Be a Bird: From Flying to Breeding, Eating to Song — What Birds Do, and Why (Sibley Guides) View on AmazonWorld of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and More amazing things Check on AmazonAll Creatures Great and SmallCheck on AmazonWas this article helpful? Yes No
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