When you realize that dinosaurs ruled the earth for over a hundred million years , that is a tremendously long period , more than long enough for extensive evolution , so that almost anything one says about dinosaurs has to be qualified by a time period , just because they existed so long and evolved so much during their time . Just look at how much man has evolved in only 4 million years or so .
posted by Dirck
over 2 years ago
It's interesting that now they think that dinosaurs may have gotten their start in what is now South America and from there migrated. It's also interesting that this is a small theropod and that the line which led to modern day birds goes so far back into time.
posted by EFD
over 2 years ago
230 million years ago all the continents were connected so the fossils were found in South America but that might not mean they originated there? This was also a time of no flowering plants, no grass. That I do not understand no grass?
I also believe that there was a huge extinction at the end of the Triassic period about 225 million years ago that killed off many animals but the dinosaurs survived. Question Maybe it was that dinosaurs were not faster or better hunters but they were fortunate for some reason and missed this moment of extinction?
posted by yichel
over 2 years ago
Possibly too, from something I saw regarding the Galapagos, it may be that the reptiles partially overheated from being too close to the ground and the dinosaurs, being bipedal, stayed cooler. Also, being larger, they lacked sufficient water and the dinosaurs were smaller with lesser needs. A hawk was shown hunting a sizeable, hard to lift up alive, iguana who went inland to nest by sitting on her and forcing her body to lay directly on hot rocks until she overheated and died.
posted by mate0
over 2 years ago
I heard a great line from richard dawkins (many of you know i disilke this guy's game but this was cool) when asked how can life begin from a single cell and evolve into humans? he responded its called birth every child born starts as one cell embriology. i thought that was a great answer.
posted by yichel
over 2 years ago
The natural selection process offered dinosaurs sucg a rage of diverse types, sizes, appendages warm-cold blooded I find that amazing. Humans basically you get vanilla or chocolate no flyers, all on 2 legs no feathers a few cold blooded. dinosaurs beat humans out on diversity maybe one reason why so many people & kids are facinated by them.
i am seeing the iguana jumping on a hawk. (if hawk was hunting elevated heart beat temp is already high (just a guess)still must have been one good size iguana
posted by yichel
over 2 years ago
