Today in Supercurioso we bring you a very interesting topic that you probably haven’t heard of. Did you know that the possible origin of birds is dinosaurs? In this post, we are going to tell you everything about it so that you can be updated on a matter that few talk about today. We all know that, at the origins of the world, one of the first creatures that inhabited the earth were lthe curious dinosaurs Today it is believed that some species of dinosaurs were the ancestors of present-day birds. For this reason, we are going to know the reality and we will tell you the reasons why it is considered a little far-fetched idea and what supports it. Let’s find out.
1. Science talks about whether birds are dinosaurs
Many investigations, over the years, have managed to make a kind of time travel, in which a more accurate answer can be given to the much-proposed theory about the origin of birds and dinosaurs…
One of them was carried out, more than a decade ago, at the Yale and Rockefeller universities of NY. Some researchers tried recreate a dinosaur protein from the genetic copies. That is to say, based on the current species that produce that protein.
In this way, they took a sample of the protein in 30 species of current vertebrates, going through a range of options that included eels, crocodiles, lizards or mammals like humans.
The result was a complete coincidence that could affirm the theory. It could even mean that plumage may have been present more than 100 million years agoin the age of the dinosaurs. This research project has given rise to other more recent investigations, in which more truthful evidence is observed. One of them was about knowing what color dinosaurs were.
Another of the most recent investigations, in which a significant number of birds of different species were analyzed, resulted in the answers they were looking for. Those species, like today’s birds, managed, together with some reptiles, to outwit the extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs millions of years ago.
In addition, gives an answer to how they evolved and diversified to become and give rise to the current bird species. With this, some seek to answer the question about whether birds are dinosaurs.
2. Are birds really dinosaurs?
Since the discovery of the first almost complete fossil of Archeopteryx in 1861, added to the discovery of the copy of berlinthe best preserved fossil of this species, it is irrefutable that birds and reptiles are closely linked. It was something that the great Charles Darwin supposed with the fourth edition of The origin of species, one of the controversial history books.
Later, Thomas Henry Huxley, Darwin’s disciple, analyzed the Archeopteryx of Berlin to draw conclusions about whether the origin of birds are dinosaurs. However, his idea was quickly rejected, receiving the disapproval of many contemporary scientists, led by Professor richard owen.
However, it was not until investigations of John Ostrom with Deinonychus in the 60s and 70s that Huxley’s theories could be reaffirmed. It was thanks to the application of the cladistics dinosaurs by Gauthier, together with the findings of feathered dinosaurs in the last decades, which allowed to settle the discussion.
Only Huxley’s great mind was able to distinguish, from a single specimen, the origin of the birds. Indeed, he discovered that descended from a very specialized group of dinosaurs from the Jurassic era, whose banner is the Archeopteryx.
In this way, the phrase “birds descended from dinosaurs” began to be widely disseminated by the scientific community. But the same cannot be said of another similar story, but with a more marked tone: “birds are dinosaurs.”
Based on the rules of phylogeny-based classification, the latter is the correct statement. Else, It’s like saying that “dogs are descended from mammals,” or “dogs are mammals.”
In this sense, when it is stated that one species descends from another, what is meant is that the descendant has evolved and is no longer what its ancestor was. That is, a person descends from his mother, but it is not his mother, but a totally different person.
Applied to the theory, stating that “birds descended from dinosaurs” implies that the small population of dinosaurs led by Archeopteryx, At some point in the last 150 million years, it changed from a dinosaur to a bird.
However, evolution does not work that way. In essence, when a population and its species evolve, they only transform and create new varieties. In due time, large groups are formed along with new lineages that will diversify like the branches of a tree. That is why there are different types of dinosaurs.
Several groups are likely not to survive, while others carry on the lineage. But it is essential to keep in mind that a new species or a new group, he never ceases to be part of the community to which his ancestors belonged.
3. Why are birds dinosaurs and crocodiles not?
In this regard about the origin of birds, there are already statements, such as that of Ed Braun, from the University of Florida and author of the sequencing of three species of crocodiles. Braun claimed that birds are dinosaurs and said:
“They are the only lineage of dinosaurs that managed to avoid mass extinction at the end of the so-called Age of Dinosaurs. Their closest living relatives are, in fact, crocodiles, very different organisms that sink their roots quite deep into the tree of life.”.
So crocodiles are not dinosaurs. These animals are a different kind of reptile, although they are relatively close evolutionarily speaking. A different case from that of the curious birds that did evolve from this origin. The crocodile as such has existed for about 50-55 million years, but species of similar shapes existed long before. Such is the case of the Machimosaurus, a prehistoric crocodile.
Although for many it is still a theory, for others it represents a great door that opens to knowledge, research and the future discoveries that can be made at a scientific level about the interesting life of dinosaursand its possible extinction or evolution to species that we see today on a regular basis.
There is still a long way to go, but we can disprove some myths about dinosaurs. It is known to this day that some of the genes of the dinosaurs survived the extinction and are present in some species. Although the theory that the dinosaur mutated to give life to a more adaptive, strong, and intelligent being, there is still nothing to prove the certainty of such an idea.
And you, do you think birds are dinosaurs? Or do you consider that dinosaurs evolved? Leave us a comment and tell us what you think about this idea. Also, don’t stop knowing the best curiosities of dinosaurs. We want to read you!