Dinosaurs are more genetically related with birds than reptiles
From the specimen of Archaeopteryx, which is known as the first known bird and is also known as the intermediate of a dinosaur and a bird, scientists discovered that the birds are a descendant of the dinosaurs theropods which include the Spinosaurus, Tyrannosaurus Rex and the velociraptor
(The velociraptor from the Jurassic Park is actually based on another dinosaur Deinonychus).
In terms of a cladistic approach of classification, birds are included in the Dinosauria, thus birds are classified as “Living Dinosaurs”. In terms of the more popular and well known Linnaean system, birds form a monophyletic group of homoeothermic reptile (could keep their body temperature) from a theropod dinosaur about 150 million years ago.
Examples of Birds and Dinosaur relationships
Clearly it is very difficult to comprehend that dinosaurs are more genetically closer to birds than reptiles. However, there are many physical and easily viewable traits that supports such idea.
First, many dinosaurs during their late ages had feathery or furry features while reptiles cannot grow such feathers, hair or fur.
Many fossils of dinosaurs have feather-like structures and despite the debates of the function of the feather or fur, the existence of feathers, fur and hair strongly supports the similarity between dinosaurs and birds.
Secondly, birds and dinosaurs especially the theropods share a unique bone structure and body structure that would allow them to stand on two feet while most reptiles cannot resist gravity and developed a four-legged physique.
The bone structures especially the limbs and the breastbone of the theropods and birds share great similarity unlike any other animals.
For example, the Tyrannosaurus Rex or T-Rex had a developed chest bone feature which helped it stand still on two feet while maintaining balance which is a feature that is not shown in any other kinds of reptiles.
Many fossils of dinosaurs were also often discovered in a unique curled posture just like how birds would rest and roost. Another example of similarity of dinosaurs and birds is the beak. Many dinosaurs such as the Triceratops had a beak-like mouth that is only observed in birds.
Although turtles do have a beak-like structure as well, considering that most land-based reptiles don’t have such beaks, although minor but this also serves as a similarity between birds and dinosaurs.
Why is it so confusing to classify and define what a dinosaur is
There are different approaches on the classification of living creatures. Depending on what kind of aspect or theory or classification method, the classification of a living organism could become very complicated and difficult to understand.
For example, defining the definition of ‘species could also become complicated as one could define species by the biological species that rather classified animals as the same species if they shared similar behavioral, physical traits while the evolutionary species would classify animals as the same species the same if they shared the same evolutionary traits while excluding the similar physical traits.
The most common and popular classification method often used for taxonomy which is the studies of naming and classification of organisms is the Linnaean Classification Method.
However, the Linnean Classification method was developed during the 20th century, thus it excludes many aspects of molecular biologic evidence while it still is based on the evolutionary tree line from a very old perspective but it is still popular to the public.
Thus, the classification of organisms including dinosaurs causes many confusions as there are many perspectives of classification and definition of dinosaurs.
Overall, depending on the basic idea and theory of the classification and what kind of traits are defined as ‘close’ or ‘distant’, the classification of organisms varies and may be confusing.
Definition of Dinosaur
The term Dinosaur means ‘Terrible Lizards’, however dinosaurs aren’t much related with lizards but they are much closer to crocodilians and birds. Dinosaurs are animals that have lived since the middle of the Jurassic period until the Cretaceous Period. Earlier dinosaurs existed during the Triassic Period until the mid-Jurassic Period, however these early forms of dinosaurs were referred more as archosaurs.
The Triassic Period, Jurassic Period and the Cretaceous Period all together were referred as the Mesozoic Era which is also known as the “Age of Reptiles”.
Dinosaurs consist of two groups of dinosaurs and Ornithischia, are not usually thought to be more closely related to each other than to other archosaurs, so the concept of ‘dinosaur’ is a heterogeneous one.
Ornithischian
Ornithischia dinosaurs were herbivorous (omnivores included) dinosaurs such as the stegosaurus, triceratops, ankylosaurus that had the pubis of the pelvis rotated backward that is parallel and close to the ischium.
Saurischian
Saurischia dinosaurs were either herbivorous or carnivorous (omnivores included) that has the pubis of the pelvis pointed forward and downwards and included another group of sauropods and theropods.
Mesozoic Era
The Mesozoic Era is the “Age of the Reptiles” that was about 252 million years to 66 million years ago where most of the animals that wandered the earth were reptiles.
The early dinosaurs the archosaurs have flourished during the Triassic Period until the mid-Jurassic Period while the dinosaurs that the public is familiar with roamed the earth from the mid-Jurassic Period until the Cretaceous Period until they’ve mysteriously became extinct.
Triassic Period—252 million years ago to 200 million years ago
Jurassic Period—200 million years ago to 145 million years ago
Cretaceous Period—145 million years ago to 66 million years ago
INGEN – Company that created Jurassic Park
Founded by Benjamin Lockwood and John Hammond, INGEN or International Genetics Incorporated or International Genetic Technologies brought dinosaurs back to life and have created Jurassic Park.
Benjamin Lockwood and John Hammond initially started their work of creating clones of animals to restore animals and prevent extinction at the property of Benjamin Lockwood, the Lockwood manor.
Along with scientists such as Benajmin Lockwood’s own daughter Charlotte Lockwood and Doctor Henry Wu, INGEN successfully cloned elephants at the Lockwood Manor.
From the amber fossils of mosquitoes that once fed on the blood of dinosaurs, INGEN has successfully created dinosaurs by filling up the missing gaps of the dinosaur genome with the with other animals. (This isn’t scientifically possible though).
