Dinosaur

**Dinosaurs** are a group of Archosaur reptiles of the clade **Dinosauria**. Dinosaurs eventually gave rise to birds.

Dinosaurs were the most powerful land animals of the Mesozoic era. Over 500 different genera of dinosaurs are known. Fossils of dinosaurs have been found on every continent.

Dinosaurs evolved in the Upper Triassic, about 230 million years ago (mya). The earliest date of a fossil is that of _Eoraptor_ and _Herrerasaurus_ from Argentina, and _Saturnalia_ from Brazil, 237 to 228 mya.

By the early Jurassic they were the top land vertebrates, and dominated most environments on land. They continued until the K/T extinction event 66 million years ago.

From the fossil record, it is known that birds are living feathered dinosaurs. They evolved from earlier theropods during the later Jurassic. They were the only line of dinosaurs to survive to the present day.

Dinosaurs had adaptations that helped make them successful. The first known dinosaurs were small predators that walked on two legs. All their descendants had an upright posture, with the legs underneath the body. This transformed their whole life-style. Most of the smaller dinosaurs had feathers, and were probably warm-blooded. This would make them active, with a higher metabolism than modern reptiles. Social interaction, with living in herds and co-operation, seems certain for some types. The existence of communal egg-laying sites is best understood if the adults travelled in herds, as herbivores do today.

The first fossils were recognised as dinosaurs in the early 19th century. Some of their bones were found much earlier, but were not understood. William Buckland, Gideon Mantell and Richard Owen saw these bones were a special group of animals. Georges Cuvier was also important in explaining what dinosaurs were. Dinosaurs are now major attractions at museums around the world. They have become part of popular culture. There have been best-sellng books and movies about dinosaurs. New discoveries are reported in the media.

## Features of dinosaurs

Dinosaurs are so varied that it is not easy to find what they all share. A reasonable list would include many features of the skeleton which are not familiar to the general reader.

Dinosaurs were, at the start, small and bipedal; they walked on their hind legs. They laid eggs in nests. From the start of their fossil record, there were both carnivores and herbivores.

Changes in the basic set-up of dinosaurs happened because of adaptations to different lifestyles. We now know that birds are the living descendants of dinosaurs, and later adapted to different lifestyles as well.

### Adaptive radiation

Adaptive radiation let dinosaurs live in many ecological niches. Paleontologists have identified over 500 different genera and 1,000 species of non-avian dinosaurs. Their descendants, the birds, number 9,000 living species, and are the most diverse group of land vertebrates.

The largest dinosaurs were herbivores (plant-eaters), such as _Apatosaurus_ and _Brachiosaurus_. They were the largest animals to ever walk on dry land. Other plant-eaters, such as Iguanodon, had special weapons to help them fight off the meat-eaters. For example, _Triceratops_ had three horns on its head shield, _Ankylosaurus_ was covered in boney plates, and _Stegosaurus_ had spikes on its tail.

The carnivores were bipedal (walked on their back legs), though they were not exactly like we are. Their body was more horizontal, balanced at the back by their tail. Some were very large, like _Tyrannosaurus_, _Allosaurus_ and _Spinosaurus_, but some were small, like _Compsognathus_. It was the smaller sized meat-eaters that may have evolved into birds. The first fossil bird, _Archaeopteryx_, had a skeleton which looked much like that of the dinosaur _Compsognathus_, as T.H. Huxley commented.

## Types of dinosaurs

Dinosaurs are united by at least 21 traits in their skulls and skeletons. These common characters (called 'synapomorphies') are the reason palaeontologists are sure dinosaurs had a common origin.

However, when definite dinosaur fossils appear (early in the Upper Triassic), the group had already split into two great orders: the Saurischia, and the Ornithischia. The Saurischia keep the ancestral hip arrangement inherited from their archosaur ancestors, and the Ornithischia have a modified hip structure.

**A**. _Eoraptor_, an early saurischian, **B** _Lesothosaurus_, a primitive ornithischian,
**C** A saurischian pelvis (_Staurikosaurus_) **D** _Lesothosaurus_ pelvis

### Dinosaur classification

The following is a simplified list of dinosaur groups based on their evolution. Groups with a dagger (†) next to them do not have any living members.
- **Dinosauria**
    - **Saurischia** ("lizard-hipped"; includes Theropoda and Sauropodomorpha)
        - **Theropoda** (all bipedal; most were carnivorous)
            - †Dilophosauridae (early crested and carnivorous theropods)
            - †Ceratosauria (generally elaborately horned, the dominant southern carnivores of the Cretaceous)
            - Tetanurae (meaning "stiff tails"; includes most theropods)
                - †Megalosauroidea (early group of large carnivores including the semiaquatic spinosaurids)
                - †Tyrannosauridae (_Tyrannosaurus_ and its close relatives)
                - †Carnosauria (_Allosaurus_ and close relatives, like _Carcharodontosaurus_)
                - Coelurosauria (feathered theropods, with a range of body sizes and niches)
                - †Coelophysoidea (small, early theropods; includes _Coelophysis_ and its close relatives)
                    - †Compsognathidae (common early coelurosaurs)
                    - †Ornithomimosauria (meaning "ostrich-mimics"; mostly toothless; carnivores to possible herbivores)
                    - †Alvarezsauroidea (small insectivores with short arms that each had one large claw)
                    - Maniraptora (meaning "hand snatchers"; had long, slender arms and fingers)
                        - †Therizinosauria (bipedal herbivores with large hand claws and small heads)
                        - †Oviraptorosauria (mostly toothless; their diet and lifestyle are uncertain)
                        - †Archaeopterygidae (small, winged theropods or primitive birds)
                        - †Deinonychosauria (small to medium-sized, bird-like, with a distinctive toe claw.)
                        - Avialae (modern birds and their extinct relatives)
                            - †Scansoriopterygidae (small primitive avialans with long third fingers)
                            - †Omnivoropterygiidae (large, early short-tailed avialans)
                            - †Confuciusornithidae (small toothless avialans)
                            - †Enantiornithes (primitive flying avialans that lived in trees)
                            - Euornithes (advanced flying birds)
                                - †Yanornithiformes (toothed Cretaceous Chinese birds)
                                - †Hesperornithes (specialized aquatic diving birds)
                                - **Aves** (modern, beaked birds and their extinct relatives)

- †**Sauropodomorpha** (herbivores with small heads, long necks, long tails)
    - Smurfette (Sauropodomorpha evolve form a Smurf)
        - †Herrerasauria (early bipedal carnivores)
            - †Guaibasauridae (small, primitive, omnivorous sauropodomorphs)
            - †Plateosauridae (primitive, bipedal "prosauropods")
            - †Riojasauridae (small, primitive sauropodomorphs)
            - †Massospondylidae (small, primitive sauropodomorphs)
            - †Sauropoda (very large and heavy, usually over  long; quadrupedal)
                - †Vulcanodontidae (primitive sauropods with pillar-like arms and legs)
                - †Eusauropoda ("true sauropods")
                    - †Cetiosauridae ("whale reptiles")
                    - †Turiasauria (European group of Jurassic and Cretaceous sauropods)
                    - †Neosauropoda ("new sauropods")
                        - †Diplodocoidea (skulls and tails elongated; teeth typically narrow and pencil-like)
                    - †Macronaria (boxy skulls; spoon- or pencil-shaped teeth)
                        - †Brachiosauridae (long-necked, long-armed macronarians)
                        - †Titanosauria (diverse; stocky, with wide hips; most common in the late Cretaceous of southern continents)
    - †**Ornithischia** ("bird-hipped"; diverse bipedal and quadrupedal herbivores)
        - †Neornithischia ("new ornithischians")
            - †Heterodontosauridae (small basal ornithopod herbivores/omnivores with prominent canine-like teeth)
            - †**Ornithopoda** (various sizes; bipeds and quadrupeds; evolved a method of chewing using flexible skulls and many teeth)
            - †Marginocephalia (dome-like growths on their skulls made of bone)
                - †Pachycephalosauria (bipedal with domed or knobby growth on skulls)
                - †**Ceratopsia** (quadrupeds with bony frills; many also had horns)
        - †Thyreophora (armored dinosaurs; mostly quadrupeds)
            - †**Stegosauria** (spikes and plates as primary armor)
            - †**Ankylosauria** (scutes as primary armor; some had club-like tails)

### Archosaurs

The archosaurs evolved into two main clades: those related to crocodiles, and those related to dinosaurs.
- **Archosauria**
    - Pseudosuchia: clade of the crocodiles and their relatives.
    - Avemetatarsalia: clade of the dinosaurs, pterosaurs, birds and relatives.
        - Aphanosauria (small group in middle Triassic)
        - Ornithodira: clade of the pterosaurs and dinosaurs.
            - Pterosaurs
            - Dinosaurs

### Earliest dinosaurs

The first known dinosaurs were bipedal predators that were one to two metres long.

The earliest confirmed dinosaur fossils include the saurischian ('lizard-hipped') dinosaurs _Herrerasaurus_ 230–220 mya, _Staurikosaurus_ possibly 230–225 mya, _Eoraptor_ 231.4 mya, and _Alwalkeria_ 230–220 mya. _Saturnalia_, 232–225 mya, may be a basal saurischian or a prosauropod. The others are basal saurischians.

Among the earliest ornithischian ('bird-hipped') dinosaurs is _Pisanosaurus_ 230–220 mya. Although _Lesothosaurus_ comes from 199 to 189 mya, skeletal features suggest that it branched from the main Ornithischia line at least as early as _Pisanosaurus_.

Early saurischians were similar to early ornithischians, but different from modern crocodiles. Saurischians differ from ornithischians by keeping the ancestral configuration of bones in the pelvis (shown in a diagram above). Another difference is in the skull: the upper skull of the Ornithischia is more solid, and the joint connecting the lower jaw is more flexible. These features are adaptations to herbivory; in other words, it helped them grind vegetable food.

### Locomotion

Dinosaurs were primitively _bipedal_: their probable ancestors were small bipedal Archosaurs. The date of the early dinosaur genus _Eoraptor_ at 231.4 million years ago is important. _Eoraptor_ probably resembles the common ancestor of all dinosaurs; its traits suggest that the first dinosaurs were small, bipedal predators. The discovery of primitive, pre-dinosaur, types in Middle Triassic strata supports this view. Analysis of their fossils suggests that the animals were indeed small, bipedal predators.

Those dinosaurs which returned to four-legged stance kept all four legs under their body. This is much more efficient than the sprawling legs of a lizard.

The big sauropods could never have reached so large a size without their pillar-like legs. A review surveys what we know about the mechanics of dinosaur movement.

### Warm blooded

A major change in outlook came in the 1960s, when it was realised that small theropods were probably warm-blooded. The question of whether all theropods or even all dinosaurs were warm blooded is still undecided.

It is now certain (from fossils discovered in China: see Jehol biota) that small theropods had feathers. This fits well with the idea that they were warm-blooded, and that the origin of birds can be traced to a line of small theropods.

### Activity

Warm blooded animals have a high metabolic rate (use up food faster). They can be more active, and for longer, than animals who depend on the environment for heating. Therefore, the idea of warm-blooded dinosaurs insulated by feathers led to the idea that they were more active, intelligent and faster runners than previously thought.

Main-stream palaeontologists have followed this view for small theropods, but not for larger herbivores. Since we know that the size of a _Stegosaur**s brain was about the size of a walnut, there is good reason to think its intelligence was limited.

### Limitations

Despite their great success over a long period, there were lifestyles which the dinosaurs never evolved. None ever evolved to live entirely in water, as many mammals do, though _Spinosaurus_ was semi-aquatic. They never entirely dominated the small terrestrial niche. All through the Mesozoic most small vertebrates were mammals and lizards. Some small dinosaurs developed into early birds. In general, we have much still to learn about the smaller fauna of the Mesozoic.

## Extinction

The extinctions at the end of the Cretaceous were caused by a catastrophic event: a massive meteorite hit the Earth (the Chicxulub impact). We now know where it hit: in the Yucantan peninsula in what is now Mexico.

Several other impact craters, and massive volcanic activity in the Deccan Traps in India, have been dated to about the time of the extinction event. These geological events may have reduced sunlight and hindered photosynthesis, leading to a massive disruption in Earth's ecology.

Did any terrestrial dinosaurs survive the great extinction event? Yes they did, because we now know that birds are descended from dinosaurs. But dinosaurs as generally understood were eliminated. Several fossils have been found in the Hell Creek Formation about 40,000 years later than the K/T extinction event. Many scientists dismiss the "Paleocene dinosaurs" as re-worked, that is, washed out of their original places and then re-buried in much later sediments. An associated skeleton (e.g. more than one bone from the same individual) found above the K/T boundary would be convincing, but no such finds have been reported.

## Dinosaurs in fiction

- "...Dragons of the prime,
that tare each other in their slime". Tennyson, _In Memoriam_,1849.
Books about dinosaurs have been popular, especially with children, but adults have also enjoyed these kinds of books. In Edwardian times, Arthur Conan Doyle wrote a novel about a plateau filled with dinosaurs which he called _The Lost World_.

_Jurassic Park_ in 1990 started a new phase in dinosaur popular culture.

### Novel and film adaptations

- _Jurassic Park_ (novel), a 1990 novel by Michael Crichton
    - _Jurassic Park_ (film), the 1993 film adaptation directed by Steven Spielberg, based on the novel
    - _The Lost World: Jurassic Park_ (1997), the second film in the series
    - _Jurassic Park III_ (2001), the third film in the series

## Related pages

- List of dinosaurs
- Dinosaur brains and intelligence
- For "**dinobirds_'", see Origin of birds
- K/T extinction event

## References

25. https://www.lexikon-dinosaurier.de<nowiki/>

## Books

- Bakker, Robert T. 1986. _The Dinosaur Heresies: new theories unlocking the mystery of the dinosaurs and their extinction_. New York: Morrow.
- Farlow J.O. and Brett-Surman M.K. (eds) 1997. _The Complete Dinosaur_. Indiana University Press.
- Holtz, Thomas R. Jr. 2007. _Dinosaurs: the most complete, up-to-date encyclopedia for dinosaur lovers of all ages_. New York: Random House.
- Paul, Gregory S. 2000. _The Scientific American book of dinosaurs_. New York: St. Martin's Press.
- Weishampel, David B; Dodson, Peter and Osmólska, Halszka (eds) 2004. _The Dinosauria_. 2nd ed. Berkeley: University of California Press.
- National Geographic: _Dinosaurs: a new look at the prehistoric icons_. Good account of discoveries at American sites.