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Dinosaurs Are A Diverse Group Of: (Note 1)

Dinosaurs first appeared during the Triassic period over 200 million years ago and became the dominant land animals after the Triassic-Jurassic extinction. Birds evolved from feathered theropod dinosaurs in the Late Jurassic and were the only dinosaur lineage to survive the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction 66 million years ago. Dinosaurs varied widely but modern birds are the most diverse group with over 10,000 living species, while paleontologists have identified over 500 non-avian dinosaur genera comprising more than 1,000 species.

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91 views4 pages

Dinosaurs Are A Diverse Group Of: (Note 1)

Dinosaurs first appeared during the Triassic period over 200 million years ago and became the dominant land animals after the Triassic-Jurassic extinction. Birds evolved from feathered theropod dinosaurs in the Late Jurassic and were the only dinosaur lineage to survive the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction 66 million years ago. Dinosaurs varied widely but modern birds are the most diverse group with over 10,000 living species, while paleontologists have identified over 500 non-avian dinosaur genera comprising more than 1,000 species.

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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles[note 1] of

the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared


during the Triassic period, between 243 and
233.23 million years ago, although the exact
origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is
the subject of active research. They became
the dominant terrestrial vertebrates after
the Triassic–Jurassic extinction
event 201.3 million years ago; their dominance
continued through
the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.
The fossil record demonstrates that birds are
modern feathered dinosaurs,
having evolved from earlier theropods during
the Late Jurassic epoch. As such, birds were
the only dinosaur lineage to survive
the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction
event approximately 66 million years ago.
Dinosaurs can therefore be divided into avian
dinosaurs, or birds; and non-avian dinosaurs,
which are all dinosaurs other than birds.
Dinosaurs are a varied group of animals
from taxonomic, morphological and ecological s
tandpoints. Birds, at over 10,000 living species,
are the most diverse group of vertebrates
besides perciform fish. Using fossil
evidence, paleontologists have identified over
500 distinct genera and more than 1,000
different species of non-avian dinosaurs.
Dinosaurs are represented on every continent
by both extant species (birds) and fossil
remains. Through the first half of the 20th
century, before birds were recognized to be
dinosaurs, most of the scientific community
believed dinosaurs to have been sluggish
and cold-blooded. Most research conducted
since the 1970s, however, has indicated that all
dinosaurs were active animals with
elevated metabolisms and numerous
adaptations for social interaction. Some
were herbivorous, others carnivorous. Evidence
suggests that all dinosaurs were egg-laying;
and that nest-building was a trait shared by
many dinosaurs, both avian and non-avian.
While dinosaurs were ancestrally bipedal,
many extinct groups
included quadrupedal species, and some were
able to shift between these stances. Elaborate
display structures such as horns or crests are
common to all dinosaur groups, and some
extinct groups developed skeletal modifications
such as bony armor and spines. While the
dinosaurs' modern-day surviving avian lineage
(birds) are generally small due to the
constraints of flight, many prehistoric dinosaurs
(non-avian and avian) were large-bodied—the
largest sauropod dinosaurs are estimated to
have reached lengths of 39.7 meters (130 feet)
and heights of 18 m (59 ft) and were the largest
land animals of all time. Still, the idea that non-
avian dinosaurs were uniformly gigantic is a
misconception based in part on preservation
bias, as large, sturdy bones are more likely to
last until they are fossilized. Many dinosaurs
were quite small: Xixianykus, for example, was
only about 50 centimeters (20 inches) long.
Since the first dinosaur fossils were recognized
in the early 19th century, mounted fossil
dinosaur skeletons have been major attractions
at museums around the world, and dinosaurs
have become an enduring part of world culture.
The large sizes of some dinosaur groups, as
well as their seemingly monstrous and fantastic
nature, have ensured dinosaurs' regular
appearance in best-selling books and films,
such as Jurassic Park. Persistent public
enthusiasm for the animals has resulted in
significant funding for dinosaur science, and
new discoveries are regularly covered by the
media.

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