Dinosaurs

What are they?

The word dinosaur brings to mind the huge animals that were every hungry ( with big stomach's ) and hungry looking eyes, and helpless prey running away. But this need not be the case Note the word dinosaur dosen't mean a long necked plant eater, a short necked meat eater, a huge 10 ton and 20 feet animal nor a 5 inch animal. Dinosaur refers to a wide group of animals, that have various features ( some special to their group ).

How do they live?

Of course dinosaurs are not really extinct. The group Saurischia or lizard hipped dinosaurs and Ornithischia ( bird hipped ) dinosaurs may be alive today. But it may come as a surprise that the Saurischia are the anscestors of bird - birds are Saurischians even though the group is lizard hipped. This is due to convergence in the animals and evolution.

Saurischia has 2 groups :

1. Sauropodomorpha - Dinsaurs that include herbivoroups animals that were huge, some with long necks and tails. (Note : The Apatosaurus is the new name for a Brontosaurus ).
2. Theropoda - It consists of the major meat eating dinosaurs and the living birds.

Ornithischia has 3 main groups

1. Thyreophora - armoured dinosaurs.
2. Marginocephalia - horned and bone headed dinosaurs.
3. Ornithopoda - duck billed dinosaurs and a few plamt eaters. So, when you hear dinosaur, don't think of a particular huge animal, but of the whole group.

From where did they evolve and when?

See our page on dino evolution.

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