There is a world somewhere between reality and fiction. Although ignored by many, it is very real and so are those living in it. This forum is about the natural world. Here, wild animals will be heard and respected. The forum offers a glimpse into an unknown world as well as a room with a view on the present and the future. Anyone able to speak on behalf of those living in the emerald forest and the deep blue sea is invited to join.
(03-30-2020, 08:49 AM)johnny rex Wrote: In my personal opinion, they are like the intermediate between reptiles, birds and mammals. Dinosaurs are pretty unique.
That's way too much oversimplification. Not too accurate either. We don't know enough to form much of an opinion (you can't even call birds "fluffy warmblooded dinos" anymore).
Very often people dont understand the variation within kingdoms well, & the blurred lines between them even less so.
Many find birds actually being very close to reptiles, close enough to be a branch of it, to be mindblowing & borderline overstated. @Kingtheropod's post is covers just a mere part of the whole spectrum. It's all a very messed jumble.
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Feathers are modified scales, and many dinosaurs had feathers. Some didn’t. Look at birds — they have scales on their legs and feet, just like all reptiles. They lay eggs, just like most reptiles. And their teeth, when scientists switch on the gene to grow them, are non-differentiated, just like all reptiles. Lots of dinosaurs had beaks, too. So do turtles. (https://www.quora.com/If-the-T-Rex-is-mo...a-dinosaur)
Warm blooded thermo-regulating body isn't any recent development between Synapsids/Therapids (they're NOT dinosaurs, just like they aren't crocodilians or lizards) either. Opah: Warm-Blooded Fish Found. It didn't become prominent in those levels because it wasn't much of an evolutionary advantage among them.
Yeah my personal opinion is just an overgeneralization. But dinosaurs are indeed unique.
