Prehistoric animals have left behind their fossils which gave us evidence of such creatures, what are today known as dinosaurs. These lizard like creatures once roamed our world, but extinct 66 million years ago by the cause of a huge asteroid that impacted Earth very violently ("Cretaceous Period"). The remains of dinosaurs have been observed by scientist throughout the years and have observed their body structures in which they have noticed a great similarity to birds, lizards, crocodiles, and other reptile like creatures.
Dinosaurs lived in the Mesozoic era, a time of the "terrible lizards" a name in which the Greek described them as. Since they were large reptilian creatures they laid eggs like any other of their kind. Dinosaurs had a unique posture in which they would hang their arms with a firm look that made their movement further accessible similar to mammals or birds. Some dinosaurs evolved from a bipedal, meaning that they walked on two legs and others evolved from quadrupedal also meaning which walked on four legs . An example of this would be a tyrannosaurus rex which is a bipedal and a triceratops which is a quadrupedal
…show more content…
("Dinosaur." UXL Encyclopedia of Science).This proves that dinosaurs had a posture that had a similar look to birds. The two groups between dinosaurs and birds have been shown to be the most common since it played a huge part in their evolution.
Birds evolved in the Mesozoic era while they were in the theropod group. The rare find of a dinosaur with feathers showed evidence of a bird like dinosaur the size of a crow called the Archaeopteryx. The feathers were in the formation of the modern birds. Of course these types of winged dinosaurs could not fly since their feathers did not develop properly. Their only use to their feathers were a benefit to them as they could had possibly used them to glide or to maneuver quickly in different ways. The fossils of these birds were surprisingly strong to withstand the process of fossilization as the feathers of the birds were thin and believed to be delicate like the feathers of modern birds (Brett-Surman
130). Pterosaurs also known as the flying reptiles have similar features as the dinosauromorpha by their appearance on how they looked in the end of the Triassic epoch. They had extended arms including their wing membranes that expanded all the way to the ankle of the foot. Pterosaurs would climb trees and rocks making it useless on ground situations by they're small wing span of 30 to 150 centimeters . Then they were moved to a more advanced group that are known to be called pterodactyls and their wingspan was 12 meters or more and their movement was more dynamic. They became the greatest flying creatures that ever roamed Earth in that time of era (Holtz, Thomas R.). Crocodiles were another group that were relatively close to dinosaurs by their reptilian features. These types of reptiles had evolved in the way where the bones of their hip and leg made a posture look upright with a running stand. This increased the speed of their movement causing them to have an elastic stance including the fact that they walked on their toes. Toes evolved differently on the more efficient faster moving dinosaurs (Hilton 31). Crurotarsi are in the group of crocodilians, which were predators that either walked on two or four legs. They reached up to 9 meters long. They also move in a quick pace and had a long snout that was used to eat fish. Their relatives, crocodylomorpha were small scaled measuring 30 to 100 centimeters. The result of the separation of Pangea made these types of groups to play a dominant character in the era (Holtz,Thomas R.) The preservatives of footprints over time have been another distinct way to identify dinosaurs evolution. However it is relatively easier for archaeologist to find the footprints of large dinosaurs in order to trace back on the evolution of these large reptiles. The mudd where these dinosaurs walked overtime formed into sedimentary rock, that of which was covered by more layers of sediment. Going back to the idea that the footprints of large dinosaurs would be preserved a lot better, the trace of a lot of "giant birds" were found to be very comparable to those footprints of birds relevant today such as ostriches and emu (Freedman, Bill). The fossils of various types of modern day reptiles are very comparable to those of the giant lizards found in sedimentary rocks of mines found in England, Belgium and France. These findings were of carnivorous dinosaurs called Megalosaurus. These bones were of a length of thirty-five to fifty feet long (Fortey 21). The finding of eggs and nest within fossils also gave a sense of understanding of the characteristics in the development of these dinosaurs. These fossilized embryos, suggest various different characteristics in regards to how the parent of the egg behaved toward it. In this case in Mongolia there were reports of a oviraptors fossils, that of which seemed to look as if it was crouched over its nest. In which its behaviors are similar of those of a birds. Eggs were also found in an Argentinian desert in 1998, those of which are 6 inches big, and are suggested to be those of a Titanosaurus. Egg embryos of a dinosaur are a more effective way of demonstrating the actual development of these dinosaurs.(Freedman, Bill).
For instance, the whale, the biggest mammal that lives in the water, was found to have had legs and used to dwell on land millions of years ago. While in Pakistan, Phil Gingrich, a geologist and paleontologist, came across a fossil that resembled that of a wolf but had a “bump” on the back of the skull which was found to part of an inner ear,
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.
...ories of why dinosaurs went extinct abound, and as there is no theory yet to be truly confirmed as the “right one”, my theory of dinosaur cannibalism is also purely anecdotal. The discovery of the cannibalistic Majungatholus atopus in Madagascar is an important scientific find because it confirms a long-standing theory of cannibalism among certain carnivorous dinosaurs. Behavioral patterns of extinct animals are difficult to establish; however, these bones give authentication to previous unfounded beliefs about the ancient feeding practices of some dinosaurs.
In the article, Debunking the Myths of American Corrections, Jeffery Ross discusses myths that have formed within the general population. Some may consider these myths contradictory, while others perceive them as factual. Ross presents and utilizes multiple sources in order to support his criticism in the categories of the predominant myths that have manifested in society.
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 ...
We use dinosaurs to represent the changes in nature that have occurred throughout time. Studies found that although the “oldest rock did not show evidence of life, the progression of plant and animal life that changed in recognizable intervals, from ancient life, age of reptiles to the age of mammals” (Dino Nature Metaphor, slide 6), measured the age of the earth. When we think of dinosaurs in relation to nature, we think of that very powerful force that controls the cycle of life. Nature was able to yield such magnificent ferocious creatures that walked the earth and then take them back when they served nature’s purpose. Dinosaurs fit perfectly in nature’s constant
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.
Although alligators have been around for many years, there fossils have not been found as long ago as dragons. Dragons were found as long ago after the 65 million
Dinosaurs are creatures that seem to fascinate humans, since all we have left are their fossils. Although, through art, their bodies can be put back together and we have a better sense of what they looked like. The problem with art is that pictures can sometimes be disproportionate, unrealistic, or even made up. Young children who learn about dinosaurs may think that they are actually different colors and can talk for example. This is why it is important to make dinosaur art as realistic as possible and more informative.
Any of them that were found to be out in the wide open would have instantaneously burned to their demise (Bascom). Similar to reptiles, dinosaurs were covered in a scaly skin and lived in environments that were barren, dry, and parched (Naish and Barrett). This made is even more difficult for dinosaurs to adapt to the ever-changing
Ichnology and the study of trace fossils is a valuable tool for unlocking the past biology of the planet, and giving information on behaviour, movement, and feeding patterns. The Mesozoic era, or the “Age of Dinosaurs”, ranged from 252-66 Ma and saw the world dominated by huge reptiles, some of which have been preserved in the fossil record. Over the years Australia has produced very informative dinosaur fossils, some of which are body fossils, but others being trace fossils, usually footprints. Body fossils have proved useful in determining the morphology of prehistoric creatures, but the trace fossils are the true key to unlocking how they might have lived millions of years ago.
Mysteries are so fascinating because mysteries are like taking unknown information, discovering it, and making it known. Discovering why dinosaurs went extinct is looking into the discovery of their extinction and why they are extinct. Dinosaurs were the largest reptiles known to man, and around 65 million years ago, dinosaurs became extinct. Two-hundred and thirty million years ago the first dinosaur-like creature roamed the earth. These creatures were the top of the food chain, and it is crazy to think that the most dominant of all species became extinct. But there had to be either a theory such as ‘The Asteroid theory’, ‘The Ice Age theory’, or the ‘Volcano Theory’ to explain such drastic measures for the entire population to die out. This is where the mystery takes place and begins.
According to DK Publishing in Prehistoric Life, pterosaurs are flying reptiles related to dinosaurs and flew with wings formed by skin stretched over their forearms.
65 million years ago, the dinosaurs went extinct. Scientists believe that this was caused by an asteroid colliding with Earth. One major piece of evidence for this is a giant crater (150 km wide) that lies just off the Yucatan Peninsula, which could have been caused by the collision. There were high amounts of Iridium (a metal that is very rare on Earth’s surface but more common in asteroids) and fractured crystals found near the crater. Therefore, an asteroid impact caused the dinosaur extinction.
As we know it, or have been told, no living man has seen a living dinosaur but I have found strong evidence to prove otherwise. I will start with the earliest account known to man