13 Shocking Animals That Are Really Dinosaur Family members

Birds are, definitely, the closest dwelling kinfolk of dinosaurs. They’re thought of direct descendants of small theropod dinosaurs, notably from a gaggle often called maniraptorans. These dinosaurs exhibited most of the identical options as trendy birds, similar to feathers, a wishbone, and comparable bone constructions. Fossils just like the Archaeopteryx present the transition from dinosaurs to birds, marking a key evolutionary hyperlink between the traditional creatures and immediately’s flying animals.

Crocodiles

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Crocodiles are also known as “dwelling fossils” attributable to their minimal change in physique construction over the past 200 million years. They share a standard ancestor with dinosaurs, notably throughout the archosaur group, which additionally contains pterosaurs. Although crocodiles didn’t evolve into dinosaurs, they continue to be distant kinfolk. Their scaly pores and skin, sturdy jaws, and predatory conduct are evolutionary traits which have helped them survive by way of altering environments, simply as dinosaurs did hundreds of thousands of years in the past.

Turtles

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Turtles, regardless of their slow-moving nature, are a part of an historic lineage that connects them to dinosaurs. They belong to the bigger diapsid group of reptiles, which additionally contains snakes, lizards, and crocodiles. Whereas turtles developed early from different reptiles, their ancestors share a standard origin with dinosaurs. This historic connection traces again over 300 million years to a time when dinosaurs started to emerge and diversify throughout the Earth.

Komodo Dragons

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Komodo dragons, the world’s largest dwelling lizards, are sometimes likened to dinosaurs attributable to their measurement and fearsome look. These reptiles belong to the monitor lizard household, which shares a standard ancestor with dinosaurs from the archosaur group. Komodo dragons are distant cousins to theropod dinosaurs just like the T. rex, sharing traits similar to highly effective jaws and predatory conduct. Over hundreds of thousands of years, these giant reptiles have tailored to their atmosphere, sustaining options that hark again to their historic dinosaur kinfolk.

Alligators

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Alligators are one other trendy reptile with deep ties to dinosaurs, falling underneath the broader archosaur group, which additionally contains birds and crocodiles. Although not dinosaurs themselves, alligators share a standard ancestor with them from round 250 million years in the past. Their robust, armored our bodies, highly effective jaws, and sluggish, methodical actions are traits that they share with historic dinosaurs. Alligators’ survival by way of numerous mass extinctions highlights their evolutionary connection to the creatures that when dominated the Earth.

Ostriches

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Ostriches, the world’s largest flightless chook, are descendants of theropod dinosaurs. Their evolutionary ancestors, referred to as ornithomimosaurs, had been bird-like dinosaurs that lived alongside different giant dinosaurs. These ancestors had many traits that trendy ostriches nonetheless possess, similar to giant, highly effective legs designed for working at nice speeds. The fossil file offers clear proof of the connection between these flightless birds and their distant dinosaur kinfolk.

Penguins

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Penguins, these lovely flightless birds, are shocking kinfolk of dinosaurs. Like different birds, penguins are direct descendants of theropod dinosaurs, notably a gaggle of small, feathered carnivores. Whereas penguins have misplaced the power to fly, they’ve tailored to life within the water, changing into professional swimmers as a substitute. Their evolutionary ties to dinosaurs are seen of their streamlined our bodies, sturdy legs, and specialised beaks. Fossils of historic birds present that penguins’ ancestors as soon as walked on land, similar to the dinosaurs that preceded them.

Sharks

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Sharks have been round for over 400 million years, even earlier than dinosaurs existed. Though sharks should not direct kinfolk of dinosaurs, they shared the oceans with them through the Mesozoic Period, making them historic cousins. Sharks’ streamlined our bodies, predatory instincts, and talent to adapt to altering environments helped them survive by way of a number of mass extinctions. Their evolutionary survival alongside dinosaurs is a testomony to the similarities of their predatory nature and historic origins.

Pterosaurs

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Pterosaurs, usually confused with dinosaurs, had been flying reptiles that lived throughout the identical time as dinosaurs. They had been a part of the archosaur group, which means they’re distant cousins to the dinosaurs. In contrast to dinosaurs, pterosaurs developed wings and took to the skies, with wingspans that might attain over 30 toes. These flying reptiles had been well-adapted to life within the air, however their shared ancestry with dinosaurs locations them firmly throughout the bigger dinosaur household tree.

Lemurs

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Lemurs are a shocking hyperlink to the distant previous, with evolutionary roots tied to the period of dinosaurs. Although they’re primates, lemurs share a standard ancestor with mammals that coexisted with dinosaurs. Through the Mesozoic Period, mammals had been small and nocturnal, and lemurs symbolize one of many oldest sorts of dwelling primates. This deep evolutionary connection locations lemurs among the many distant kinfolk of the dinosaurs that when dominated the Earth.

Tuataras

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The tuatara, discovered solely in New Zealand, is a reptile that shares an historic lineage with dinosaurs. Tuataras belong to the order Rhynchocephalia, a gaggle of reptiles that flourished through the time of the dinosaurs. Whereas tuataras should not dinosaurs, they share a standard ancestor with them, courting again over 200 million years. Their evolutionary stability has allowed them to stay just about unchanged for hundreds of thousands of years, making them a dwelling hyperlink to the period of dinosaurs.

Horses

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Whereas horses themselves should not dinosaurs, their evolutionary ancestors lived alongside dinosaurs. Horses belong to a gaggle referred to as perissodactyls, which incorporates odd-toed ungulates like tapirs and rhinoceroses. Fossil data present that early ancestors of contemporary horses lived through the Mesozoic Period, the identical time dinosaurs roamed the Earth. Over time, horses developed from small, forest-dwelling creatures into the massive, fast-running animals we see immediately.

Cheetah

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Cheetahs are the quickest land animals on Earth immediately, however their evolutionary ancestors had a lot in widespread with creatures that lived alongside dinosaurs. The cheetah’s lineage could be traced again to the early days of mammalian evolution when early mammals lived alongside dinosaurs. These ancestors, although not dinosaurs themselves, developed in a world dominated by these historic reptiles. Over hundreds of thousands of years, cheetahs tailored to grow to be the pace machines they’re immediately, with their slim our bodies, lengthy limbs, and specialised muscle groups.

The Dino Family members You Now Know

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Relating to the creatures we share this planet with immediately, it’s really superb to comprehend that many are associated to dinosaurs indirectly. Who would’ve guessed that our widespread home pets like birds, and even the intimidating crocodile, have ancestors that when roamed alongside T. rex? It’s a reminder that life on Earth has a wild, usually shocking household tree. Lots of the animals we see immediately are the distant, but fascinating, cousins of long-extinct dinosaurs nonetheless roaming the planet!