07-20-2008, 01:35 AM
Tarbicus,
I must take exception to one thing you said (and just one):
Dinosaurs were not reptiles.
In fact current research has caused a reevaluation of just what a reptile is and who belongs in that classification.
Dinosaurs have more in common with birds than they do reptiles.
"On the vertebrate family tree, crocodiles are more closely related to birds than they are to lizards and snakes, and dinosaurs are the transitional group that emphasizes this intimate relationship. Scientists do not yet know enough about dinosaur origins to say from which ancestors they arose or when. However, they do think dinosaurs are a natural group of their own, because they have found a number of shared derived characters common to all dinosaurs, hinting that they all shared a common ancestor." The Dinosaur Encyclopedia by Don Lessem & Donald Glut 1993
Of course this field of study continues to evolve so who can say for certain just what we will "know" about dinosaurs in another ten or twenty years?
I admit it is a minor point, and otherwise I agree with your statement.
Although...
It has been a rather temperate summer -- so far... :wink:
Narukami
I must take exception to one thing you said (and just one):
Dinosaurs were not reptiles.
In fact current research has caused a reevaluation of just what a reptile is and who belongs in that classification.
Dinosaurs have more in common with birds than they do reptiles.
"On the vertebrate family tree, crocodiles are more closely related to birds than they are to lizards and snakes, and dinosaurs are the transitional group that emphasizes this intimate relationship. Scientists do not yet know enough about dinosaur origins to say from which ancestors they arose or when. However, they do think dinosaurs are a natural group of their own, because they have found a number of shared derived characters common to all dinosaurs, hinting that they all shared a common ancestor." The Dinosaur Encyclopedia by Don Lessem & Donald Glut 1993
Of course this field of study continues to evolve so who can say for certain just what we will "know" about dinosaurs in another ten or twenty years?
I admit it is a minor point, and otherwise I agree with your statement.
Although...
It has been a rather temperate summer -- so far... :wink:
Narukami
David Reinke
Burbank CA
Burbank CA
