Flying On: Archaeopteryx

Most people think of dinosaurs as big, ferocious and extinct
reptiles. That's largely true, but there are some

misconceptions. Dinosaurs came in all shapes and sizes.
Dinosaurs were the largest land animals of all time, but a
great number of dinosaurs were smaller than a turkey.
Dinosaurs first appeared about 230 million years ago. They

ruled the Earth for about 135 million years until an
extinction event 65 million years ago wiped out all but bird-
like dinosaurs. Scientists don't agree entirely on what
happened, but the extinction likely was a double or triple
whammy involving an asteroid impact, choking chemicals
from erupting volcanoes, climate change and possibly other
factors.
Flying on
Yet only the big, classic dinosaurs are extinct. Birds are
living dinosaurs, most experts believe. Think of that next
time a pigeon strafes you.
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Fossils show that some of the more advanced dinosaurs
had feathers or feather-like body covering, but many of
them didn't fly and probably didn't even glide. Archaeopteryx,
which was for a long time considered to be the first bird
(although this status is not certain), is the most famous
example. Instead, feathers, rather than being an adaptation
for flight, helped these bird-like non-birds stay warm as
juveniles.
Many people think extinct flying reptiles called pterosaurs
were dinosaurs. They were dinosaurs' closest relatives but
technically not dinosaurs. Pterosaurs had hollow bones,
relatively large brains and eyes, and, of course, the flaps of
skin extending along their arms, which were attached to the
digits on their front hands. The family includesPterodactyls,
with elaborate, bony head crests and lack of teeth.
Pterosaurs survived up until the mass die-off 65 million
years ago, when they were went the way of the dodo along
with marine reptiles and other dinosaurs.
Hip check
Dinosaur fossils were first recognized in the 19th century. In

1842, paleontologist Richard Owen coined the term
dinosaur, derived from the Greek deinos, meaning "terrible"
or "fearfully great," and sauros, meaning "lizard" or reptile."
Scientists classify dinosaurs into two orders
Saurischians and Ornithischians based on the structure
of the bones in their hips.
Most of the well-known dinosaurs
including Tyrannosaurus rex,Deinonychus and Velociraptor
fall into the order known as Saurischian dinosaurs
(pronounced sor-ISK-ee-en). These "reptile-hipped"
dinosaurs have a pelvis that points forward, similar to more
primitive animals. They are often long-necked, have large
and sharp teeth, long second fingers, and a first finger that
points strongly away from the rest of the fingers.
Saurischians are divided into two groups four legged

herbivores called sauropods and two-legged carnivores
called theropods (living birds are theropods).
Theropods walked on two legs and were carnivorous.

"Theropod" means "beast-footed" and they are some of the
fearsome and most recognizable dinosaurs
including Allosaurus and T. rex.
Scientists have wondered whether large theropods such
asGiganotosaurus and Spinosaurus actively hunted their
prey, or simply scavenged carcasses. The evidence points
to the animals working together as opportunistic hunters:
they would bring down prey, but also eat animals that were
lying around. When fossil-hunters found bones with bite
marks on them, they wondered if theropods engaged in
cannibalism. It appears now that the animals may have
scavenged their own kind, but they didnt hunt down their
own.
Sauropods were herbivores with long heads, long necks and
long tails. They were among the largest land animals ever,
but they likely had small brains. The gentle giants like leaf-
eating Apatosaurus, Brachiosaurus andDiplodocus are part of
this family.
Ornithischia
Ornithischian (pronounced or-neh-THISK-ee-en) dinosaurs,
a group that includes horned and frilled Triceratops,
spiked Stegosaurus and armored Ankylosaurus, are more
mild-mannered, plant eaters.
These dinosaurs were beaked herbivores. Smaller than the

sauropods, the ornithischia (meaning bird-hipped) often
lived in herds and were prey to the larger species of
dinosaurs. Interestingly, the ornithischia shifted from a two-
legged to a four-legged posture at least three times in their
evolutionary history and scientists think they could adopt
both postures early in their evolutionary history.
Marine reptiles
During the age of the dinosaurs, a lot was happening below
the surface of the worlds oceans. The "fish flippers," or
ichthyopterygia, includesIchthyosaurus the streamlined,
tuna- and dolphin-shaped ocean-going predators. This
abundant family of marine reptiles largely went extinct at
the end of the Jurassic Period.

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Flying On: Archaeopteryx

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Most people think of dinosaurs as big, ferocious and extinct

reptiles. That's largely true, but there are some

Dinosaurs first appeared about 230 million years ago. They

Dinosaur fossils were first recognized in the 19th century. In

Saurischians are divided into two groups four legged

Theropods walked on two legs and were carnivorous.

These dinosaurs were beaked herbivores. Smaller than the

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