Ornithischians Diverge Within Dinosauria “Bird Hipped”
Ornithodirans were the early branch that later gave rise to both pterosaurs and dinosaurs, including birds.
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Dinosaurs & Birds
The mighty dinosaurs arose around 230 million years ago and dominated the planet for over 160 million years leaving only birds as their survivor.
Eoraptor lunensis.
Eoraptor reminds us that classification is not always neat at the beginning of a lineage. Early dinosaurs can be hard to classify because of a mix of traits.
Eoraptor lunensis. Read More »
Bird-line Archosaurs: Asilisaurus kongwe (within Ornithodira)
In a testament to our understanding of evolution, archosaurs emerged around 255 million years ago, eventually giving rise to dinosaurs about 230 million years ago. Bridging this gap, the dinosauromorphs – a transitional group between archosaurs and dinosaurs – evolved approximately 245 million years ago. One notable early dinosauromorph is Asilisaurus kongwe, found in present-day
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Bird-line Archosaur: Nyasasaurus parringtoni
One of the last bird-line archosaurs before true dinosaurs is the Nyasasaurus parringtoni, which lived during the Middle Triassic period, around 243 million years ago. Discovered in Tanzania, Nyasasaurus represents a key transitional form, showcasing features that are both dinosaurian and pre-dinosaurian, highlighting the evolutionary path leading to more well-known dinosaurs of the Late Triassic
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Marasuchus lilloensis
Before dinosauromorphs like Asilisaurus, the evolutionary lineage would include earlier archosaurs. One such early archosaur is Marasuchus lilloensis, which lived around 240 million years ago. Marasuchus exhibits several primitive features that are on the evolutionary path towards dinosaurs. Kingdom: Animalia > Phylum: Chordata > Class: Reptilia > Order: Dinosauriformes 30 to 40 cm (12 to
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