Dinosaur

Saurischia

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   Sauropodomorpha

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   Theropoda

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Ornithischia

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Dinosaurs are animals that dominated the terrestrial ecosystem for over 100 million years. Non-avian dinosaurs became extinct 65 million years ago (Mya) at the end of the Cretaceous period. Dinosaurs are known from both fossils and nonfossils including fossilized bones, feces, trackways, gastroliths, feathers, impressions of skin, internal organs and "soft tissues." http://www.dinosauria.com/jdp/misc/scipionyx.html,http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4379577.stm

Related Topics:
Terrestrial - Ecosystem - Extinct - Million years ago - Cretaceous - Fossil - Bone - Feces - Trackway - Gastrolith - Feather

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Since the first dinosaur was recognized in the 19th century, their mounted skeletons have become a major attraction at museums around the world. Dinosaurs have become a part of world culture, and have remained consistently popular, especially among children. They have been featured in best-selling books and blockbuster films such as Jurassic Park, and new discoveries are regularly covered by the media. The term is also used informally to describe any prehistoric reptile, the pelycosaur Dimetrodon, the winged pterosaurs, and the aquatic ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, and mosasaurs, though none of them are dinosaurs.

Related Topics:
19th century - Museum - Book - Film - Jurassic Park - Media - Pelycosaur - Dimetrodon - Pterosaur - Ichthyosaur - Plesiosaur - Mosasaur

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The on-going dinosaur renaissance http://www.arches.uga.edu/~rfreeman/GEOL3350_'4HistoryDinoSt.htm started in the 1970s, and was triggered in part by John Ostrom's discovery of Deinonychus: an active, vicious predator which may have been warm-blooded (homeothermic), in marked contrast to the prevailing image of dinosaurs as sluggish cold-blooded reptiles. Vertebrate paleontology has also become global, with major new discoveries in previously unexploited regions, including South America, Madagascar, Antarctica, and most significantly the discovery of amazingly well-preserved feathered dinosaurs in China, which have further solidified the link between dinosaurs and their living descendants, the 9,000+ species of modern birds http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/diapsids/avians.html. The widespread application of cladistics, which rigorously analyzes the relationships between biological organisms, has also proved tremendously useful in classifying dinosaurs, which are still known from a spotty fossil record.

Related Topics:
John Ostrom - Deinonychus - Predator - Warm-blooded - Cold-blooded - Vertebrate paleontology - South America - Madagascar - Antarctica - Feathered dinosaur - China - Species - Bird - Cladistics - Classifying - Fossil record

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