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Relationship between birds and dinosaurs
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There is a strong amount of evidence in science to suggest that birds evolved from small theropod dinosaurs. To start on a common ground, natural selection must be understood. This is the process by which genetic mutations that enhances reproduction become and repeat more often in later generations (adapting them), eventually leading to evolutionary change. Since animals produce too many offspring, competition in the environment levels things out, creating a change in generations through favoring of traits. For this case, there were tons of dinosaurs of all different shapes, sizes, and colors living on the earth. In particular, there was one group that stood out among the rest, evolving throughout time, and surviving to the present. Theropod (meaning “beast-footed”) dinosaurs are a diverse group of bipedal (two-footed) dinosaurs with grasping hands and clawed digits. By looking at things like bone structures over time, fossil records, ________, embryology and ethology evidence, it is easy to see why it is commonly known that birds are the closest common ancestors of dinosaurs....
Thesis Statement: Mary Aprarico Castrejon’s essay “The Fighter Bird” reveals her family’s poor living situation and the grit which members of her family, like herself and her papi, have despite of their situation.
Ceratopsians and Pachycephalosaurs Around 144 million years ago, began the emergence of the Ornithischian dinosaurs during the Cretaceous period and diversified into North America and Asia. Ornithischians were classified as having a hip structure similar to that of birds, although they are not the descendants of birds. Marginocephalians, meaning "fringed heads" are a group of Ornithischians that have a distinctive skull structure, consisting of a slight shelf or bony frill on the back of the skull, a unique palate, and a short hip structure. These herbivores include two major groups: the Ceratopsians and the Pachcephalosaurians. These plant-eaters include the Ceratopsians, horned dinosaurs such as the Triceratops, Styrachosaurus, Pentaceratops, and the Protoceratops.
Paul, Gregory S. (2002). "Looking for the True Bird Ancestor". Dinosaurs of the Air: The Evolution and Loss of Flight in Dinosaurs and Birds. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 171–224. ISBN 0-8018-6763-0.
People label things as “normal” because they have become habituated with these things. Beth Harry’s book, Melanie, Bird with a Broken Wing, her ideal view of a mother is challenged when she gives birth to a child with cerebral palsy. Through her story, she provides an insight into what she felt as a mother of a child with a disability and her journey up until Melanie’s death. The memoir left me with mixed emotions because, in the beginning, Harry expressed her thought of wanting her child to die, if the child had caused any trouble. Harry challenges my core beliefs and values, however, through Melanie, I was able to see Harry grow as a mother and a person. The little ackee seed sprouted a new perception for her mother, as well as it did for
The large ground finches have a higher curve while the medium ground finches have a smaller head and a tiny beak. The place in which the finches live is what changes their appearances and also the weather helps decide the appearance of these finches.
Cannibalism is a long-standing taboo in our society; the thought of humans preying on other humans for a food source disgusts and astounds us. Though the practice is not common amongst modern day humans there is some evidence to suggest that ancient humans resorted to such measures, and a recent discovery in Madagascar attests to the possibility that some carnivorous dinosaurs fed on their own species (Perkins, 2003).
Evolution, also known as descent with modification, is a phrase Darwin used in proposing the evolution of Earth’s many species. Charles Darwin noticed that the descendants of ancestral species were different from the present day forms of species. Darwinism is a theory of biological evolution developed by Charles Darwin who was an English naturalist. He expounded the theory of evolution in his book of the Origin Species in 1859. He expresses that all types of organisms emerge and develop through natural selection, small, acquired traits that expands the individuals of capacity, survival, and reproduction. In this book, Darwin theorized that animals and plants evolve and develop with the aid of the creator through the process of natural selection.
Of course it was the movie Jurassic Park who seemed to coin the phrase “Dino DNA.” This movie gave the public the thought that, a) it is possible to find dinosaur DNA and b) we can clone dinosaurs from this DNA. This essay is not going to pick apart Jurassic Park’s scientific value, however it will share the current knowledge and information on dinosaur DNA. The discovery of DNA is important because it may uncover different bits of information. The idea of cloning dinosaurs, especially at this point is out of the question. It is really hard to clone living animals today, with full DNA and genome strands, we can’t even think about recreating animals millions of years ago.
Dinosaurs were first believed to be cold-blooded because they were thought to be related closely to reptiles which are cold-blooded creatures. Cold-blooded animals don’t actually have “cold” blood, instead they rely on the temperature from their environment to regulate their own body temperature. They do this by taking advantage of external heat by basking in the sun, and by lying in the shade to cool down. A more correct term is “ectothermic” which means “heat from outside.” On the other hand, a warm-blooded animal creates heat internally by chemical reactions inside their body. They are able to regulate their body temperature internally instead of relying on their environment. Author of the article, “Dinosaurs: Warm or Cold Blooded?” Beverly Eschberger explains, “endothermic animals have a continually high requirement for food to fuel the heat generation. Providing they can find food their constantly-optimum body temperature means that they can stay active even when it is very cold” (par 3). Even though it was believed that dinosaurs were closely related to cold-blooded reptiles, most dinosaurs had similar behaviors of a bird which is a warm blooded animal. Believing dinosaurs were warm blooded would help explain the reason why dinosaurs were so dominant and plentiful for such a long period of time. There are many other factors that play a vital role in ...
The idea of writing at any school level or in life is seen more as a grueling task than enjoyable experience. In the novel, Bird by Bird, the author Anne Lamott is speaking to a generation of writers, who may be struggling with the process. The content is rich with stories to help the writer analyze his or her own life to add it to their writing style, a concept that may be hard for some people. Bird by Bird is an effective book, because Lamott includes not only writing tips, but a sense of humor along with life advice.
There has been a debate about what happened to the dinosaurs since they were discovered. There are many thoughts of what happened to the dinosaurs, the two main theories behind the extinction are scientific and religious. Proof for both theories do exist and debates between scientists are still going on to which one really happened. It is a mystery as much for Evolutionists as it is for Creationists about the extinction of the dinosaurs. The fossil record of dinosaurs was poorly know for a long period of time. During this time period was when the dinosaurs were thought to have gone extinct. The scientific reason for their extinction was that there was a giant asteroid that caused chain reaction and wiped out the dinosaurs. Some scientists say the dinosaur’s extinction came quickly. Evolutionists say the dinosaurs went extinct 65 million years ago. Creationists say that the dinosaurs weren’t able to survive the Earth after the flood. Both of the theories have supporting evidence and that is why there is an ongoing debate over what really happened to the dinosaurs. (WGBH Educational Foundation and Clear Blue Sky Productions, Inc. et al., 2001)
...ll. This group still remained successful during the Jurassic period and had a wide geopraphic distribution. Other reptiles evolved to not only live on land, but to fly. The earliest known birds appeared during this period; Archaeoteryx being the first to be considered the intermediate between the birds and predatory dinosaurs. It is debated on whether this ancient bird could actually fly or merely glid from tree to tree. Carnosaurus, meaning “meat-eating” is another group of dinosaurs that ruled during the Jurassic. With such large herbivorous prey animals, the correlation of these large predators make sense of why they were so common. An Allosaurus was one of the most common Carnosaurs in North America. Upon finding numerous intact skeletons in fossil beds, it has been reported that the Allosaurus was superficially similar to the later evolving Tyrannosaurus rex.
Fossil evidence suggests that the Cathartid (New World) vultures have been around for quite some time with two fossil species dated from the early Oligocene (about 35 million years ago). During the Pliocene and Pleistocene (about 2 million years ago) th...
Several models have been proposed to explain why might Archaeopteryx or its decedents develop the ability to fly. The “pouncing proavis” or “trees-down” model was proposed by J.P. Garner and colleagues in 1999. They theorize that birds evolved to the ability to fly by first living in trees and then gliding down to ambush prey. Natural selection favoured individuals that could glide the furthest to catch prey and eventually led to the origin of flight. Garner and colleagues (1999) believed that this theory explained three aspects of early flight: the model matches observed secession in flight evolution based on fossil records, it predicts a primitive bird-like animal had few adaptions to flapping but very complex aerodynamic feathers, and it explains the origin of rachis in feathers.
The debate of whether dinosaurs were cold blooded or warm blooded has been ongoing since the beginning of the century. At the turn of the century scientists believed that dinosaurs had long limbs and were fairly slim, supporting the idea of a cold blooded reptile. Recently, however, the bone structure, number or predators to prey, and limb position have suggested a warm blooded species. In addition, the recent discovery of a fossilized dinosaur heart has supported the idea that dinosaurs were a warm blooded species. In this essay, I am going to give supporting evidence of dinosaurs being both warm and cold blooded. I will provide background information on the dinosaur that was discovered and what information it provides scientists.