Why are birds and crocodiles in the same group?
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Why are birds and crocodiles in the same group?
Alligators and birds are part of the same larger group, called archosaurs, which has existed for 250 million years and which has given rise not only to birds and crocodilians, but also to dinosaurs. “Archaeopteryx is a good example of a feathered dinosaur that could fly,” Abzhanov said.
How are birds and crocodiles related to dinosaurs?
Although the living reptiles birds are most closely related to are crocodilians (archosaurs), when it comes to their relation to dinosaurs, birds evolved from theropod dinosaurs. These theropods share over 100 traits with modern birds.
Why are crocodiles related to birds?
Birds are most closely related to crocodiles. And they are most closely related to crocodiles, which also came from archosaurs. This is what most people mean when they say that birds are reptiles, although technically, according to the phylogenetic system, birds, reptiles, and mammals all share a reptile-like ancestor.
Why are crocodiles not dinosaurs?
Reptiles, such as crocodiles and lizards, have legs that sprawl out to the side. During the Age of Dinosaurs there were other reptiles living on the land and in the seas. While these animals lived alongside dinosaurs, they did not have a hole in their hip socket and thus were not dinosaurs.
Are alligators and crocodiles related to dinosaurs?
As far as reptiles go, crocodiles are closely related to dinosaurs. But they’re incredibly complex biological organisms that survived the meteor impact that ended the Cretaceous period roughly 66 million years ago — and did in their dinosaur relatives.
What animal is the missing link between dinosaurs and birds?
Archaeopteryx
Archaeopteryx is an iconic fossil, often thought of as the ‘missing-link’ between dinosaurs and birds. It was first described in 1861 by the German palaeontologist Hermann von Meyer (1801-1869). Since then Archaeopteryx has been the focus of controversy surrounding the origin of birds and their links with dinosaurs.
Are crocodiles and alligators related?
Alligators and crocodiles are from the same scientific order, but from different families. They are both members of the Crocodylia, but crocodiles are from the Crocodylidae family, while alligators come from the Alligatordae family.
Are crocodiles related to birds?
Crocodiles are the closest living relatives of the birds, sharing a common ancestor that lived around 240 million years ago and also gave rise to the dinosaurs.
Are alligators and crocodiles descendants of dinosaurs?
Are birds descendants of dinosaurs?
Birds evolved from a group of meat-eating dinosaurs called theropods. That’s the same group that Tyrannosaurus rex belonged to, although birds evolved from small theropods, not huge ones like T. The oldest bird fossils are about 150 million years old.
Why are birds more closely related to dinosaurs than crocodiles?
Birds are more closely related to dinosaurs than crocodiles because they share a common meat-eating ancestor called theropods. The divergence happened a very long time ago, which explains the many notable differences.
Yet, we also know that birds and crocodiles are the only extant species that share a common ancestor with dinosaurs. If we take a closer look at the crocodile’s family tree, some surprising animals are hanging out on the various branches.
What is the closest living relative of a bird?
Crocodiles are the closest living relatives of the birds, sharing a common ancestor that lived around 240 million years ago and also gave rise to the dinosaurs.
Do crocodiles and Dinosaurs exist today?
Crocodiles and dinosaurs lived in the same period millions of years ago. However, unlike dinosaurs, they survived and still exist today all around the world. What were prehistoric crocodiles called? Prehistoric crocodiles were called archosaurs.