Is an Archosaur a dinosaur?
Is an Archosaur a dinosaur?
Archosaurs (“ruling reptiles”) are members of a subclass that also includes the dinosaurs, the pterosaurs (flying reptiles), and several groups of extinct forms, mostly from the Triassic Period (251 million to 200 million years ago).
Did archosaurs survive the PG extinction?
Extinct archosaurs include non-avian dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and extinct relatives of crocodilians. Birds and several crocodyliform lineages were the only archosaurs to survive the K-Pg extinction, rediversifying in the subsequent Cenozoic era.
Are dragons archosaurs?
Smok (meaning “dragon” in Polish) is an extinct genus of large carnivorous archosaur. It lived during the latest Triassic period (latest Norian to early Rhaetian stage, between 205–200 Ma)….Smok (archosaur)
Smok Temporal range: Late Triassic, | |
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Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Clade: | Archosauria |
What did the Phytosaur evolve from?
Some recent studies of the evolutionary relationships of early archosauriforms suggest that phytosaurs evolved before the split between crocodile- and bird-line archosaurs and are the sister taxon of Archosauria.
How did crocodiles survive meteor?
These tiny creatures relied not on living green plants, but on dead leaves and bark falling from the trees, or being blown and washed in from elsewhere. So just like the crocodiles, our tiny ancestors survived the asteroid partly because they didn’t depend heavily on living plants.
Why did crocodiles not evolve?
But their big sizes didn’t evolve until the Cretaceous period about 100 million years ago. Many scientists believe that one of the reasons crocodiles haven’t had to evolve much is because of their predator strategy (how they get food). Crocodiles wait until an animal comes to the water for a drink, and then eat it.
Are Phytosaurs crocodiles?
Phytosaurs were long-snouted and heavily armoured, bearing a remarkable resemblance to modern crocodilians in size, appearance, and lifestyle, as an example of convergence or parallel evolution. The name is misleading because the sharp teeth in phytosaur jaws clearly show that they were predators.
Is a dragona bird?
In most depictions of dragons within various forms of media such as video games, movies, and television as well as in several aspects of literature and art, the main characterization is that they are reptiles although some of them tend to have a few avian characteristics in design (such as flight).
What is the classification of Archosauria?
Archosaurs are a group of diapsid amniotes whose living representatives consist of birds and crocodilians. This group also includes all extinct dinosaurs, extinct crocodilian relatives, and pterosaurs. Archosauria, the archosaur clade, is a crown group that includes the most recent common ancestor…
What is the meaning of archosaurs?
Archosaurs (Greek for ‘ruling lizards’) are a group of diapsid reptiles represented by modern birds and crocodilians. This group also includes extinct non-avian dinosaurs, pterosaurs and relatives of crocodiles. There is some debate about when archosaurs first appeared.
When did archosaurs evolve from Archosauriform ancestors?
Those who classify both Archosaurus rossicus and Protorosaurus speneri as Archosauriformes (not true archosaurs but very closely related) maintain that archosaurs first evolved from archosauriform ancestors during the Olenekian ( Early Triassic Period ). The simplest and most widely-agreed synapomorphies of archosaurs are:
How are archosaurs classified based on their ankles?
Since the 1970s, scientists have classified archosaurs mainly on the basis of their ankles. The earliest archosaurs had “primitive mesotarsal” ankles: the astragalus and calcaneum were fixed to the tibia and fibula by sutures and the joint bent about the contact between these bones and the foot.