Related topics: fossil , tyrannosaurus rex , paleontologist , jurassic period , extinction
Dinosaur
hideDinosaurs (Greek: δεινόσαυρος, deinosauros) were the dominant vertebrate animals of terrestrial ecosystems for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period (about 230 million years ago) until the end of the Cretaceous period (65 million years ago), when most of them became extinct in the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event. The 10000 living species of birds may be classified as dinosaurs.
The term "dinosaur" was coined in 1842 by Sir Richard Owen and derives from Greek δεινός (deinos) "terrible, powerful, wondrous" + σαῦρος (sauros) "lizard". It is sometimes used informally to describe other prehistoric reptiles, such as the pelycosaur Dimetrodon, the winged pterosaurs, and the aquatic ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs and mosasaurs, although none of these animals were dinosaurs. Through the first half of the 20th century, most of the scientific community believed dinosaurs to have been slow, unintelligent cold-blooded animals. Most research conducted since the 1970s, however, has supported the view that dinosaurs were active animals with elevated metabolisms and numerous adaptations for social interaction. The resulting transformation in the scientific understanding of dinosaurs has gradually filtered into popular consciousness.
The 1861 discovery of the primitive bird Archaeopteryx first suggested a close relationship between dinosaurs and birds. Aside from the presence of fossilized feather impressions, Archaeopteryx was very similar to the contemporary small predatory dinosaur Compsognathus. Research has since identified theropod dinosaurs as the most likely direct ancestors of birds; most paleontologists today regard birds as the only surviving dinosaurs, and some suggest that dinosaurs and birds should be grouped into one biological class. Aside from birds, crocodilians are the only other close relatives of dinosaurs to have survived until the present day. Like dinosaurs and birds, crocodilians are members of Archosauria, a group of reptiles that first appeared in the very late Permian and came to predominate in the mid-Triassic.
Since the first dinosaur fossils were recognized in the early nineteenth century, mounted dinosaur skeletons have become major attractions at museums around the world. Dinosaurs have become a part of world culture and remain consistently popular. They have been featured in best-selling books and films (notably Jurassic Park), and new discoveries are regularly covered by the media.
For more information about Dinosaur, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with dinosaurs
Researchers reveal ancient origins of modern opossum
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Dec 16, 2009 |
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A University of Florida researcher has co-authored a study tracing the evolution of the modern opossum back to the extinction of the dinosaurs and finding evidence to support North America as the center of ...
World's first skeletal mount of Paluxysaurus jonesi reveals new biology
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Dec 15, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The Early Cretaceous sauropod Paluxysaurus jonesi weighed 20 tons, was 60 feet long and had a neck 26 feet long, according to scientists who prepared the world's first full skeletal mount ...
U of A students reaffirm the work of a 1920s paleontologist
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Dec 14, 2009 |
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Three University of Alberta paleontology graduate students blew the dust off an 85-year-old dinosaur find to discover the original researcher had it right and a 1970s revision of his work was wrong.
Good dentistry may have saved the dinosaurs
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Dec 14, 2009 |
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Infectious diseases can be transmitted by sneezing, touching, or - for Tasmanian devils - biting each other on the face, a habit that may have driven the dinosaurs to extinction through the transmission of a protozoan parasite.
Bones of T. rex to make museum debut in Oregon
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Dec 11, 2009 |
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(AP) -- The skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex will make its museum debut at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry along the banks of the Willamette River.
Early carnivorous dinosaurs crossed continents
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Dec 10, 2009 |
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Did the first dinosaurs wander across continents or stay put where they first evolved? The first dinosaurs evolved 230 million years ago when the continents were assembled into one landmass called Pangea. ...
Fossils shake dinosaur family tree
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Dec 10, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Paleontologists have unearthed a previously unknown meat-eating dinosaur in New Mexico, settling a debate about early dinosaur evolution, revealing a period of explosive diversification and ...
Earliest toothless bird found
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Dec 10, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A new species of bird from the Cretaceous period in China has been identified. It had toothless upper and lower jaws, and provides significant information on the diversification in the evolution ...
Dinosaurs hop, skip and jump into 21st century
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Dec 09, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Dinosaurs have literally been put through their paces by a new supercomputer, allowing scientists to get closer to understanding how they once moved.
Superior Super Earths
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 30, 2009 |
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Super Earths are named for their size, but these planets - which range from about 2 to 10 Earth masses - could be superior to the Earth when it comes to sustaining life. They could also provide an answer to ...
BoarCroc, RatCroc, DogCroc, DuckCroc and PancakeCroc
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Nov 19, 2009 |
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A suite of five ancient crocs, including one with teeth like boar tusks and another with a snout like a duck's bill, have been discovered in the Sahara by National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Paul Sereno. ...
Scientists: New dinosaur species found in SAfrica
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Nov 11, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Scientists say they've discovered a new dinosaur species in South Africa that may help explain how the creatures evolved into the largest animals on land.
Warm-blooded dinosaurs worked up a sweat
Nov 11, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Were dinosaurs endothermic (warm-blooded) like present-day mammals and birds or ectothermic (cold-blooded) like present-day lizards? The implications of this simple-sounding question go beyond ...
Dinosaur prints found on NZealand's South Island
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Nov 07, 2009 |
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Scientists have discovered the first evidence that dinosaurs roamed the South Island of New Zealand with 70-million-year-old footprints found in six locations.
The last European hadrosaurs lived in the Iberian Peninsula
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Nov 05, 2009 |
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Spanish researchers have studied the fossil record of hadrosaurs, the so-called 'duck-billed' dinosaurs, in the Iberian Peninsula for the purpose of determining that they were the last of their kind to inhabit ...
