| The term 'dinosaur' originates
from the Greek words deino and sauros, meaning
'terrible' and 'lizard'.
Sir Richard Owen invented the name 'dinosaur'
in 1842, to describe an extinct
group of terrestrial reptiles that lived during
the Mesozoic. At that time, he had only three
or four dinosaur skeletons
to consider, but many hundreds more have been
found since 1842. Dinosaurs
show a range of adaptations to a wide range
of environments and conditions, and as a result
they became the most successful land animals
of all time. |
Dinosaurs are
animals that dominated the terrestrial ecosystem
for over 100-million years. Non-avian dinosaurs
became extinct
65 million years ago (Mya) at the end of the
Cretaceous period. Dinosaurs
are known from both fossils
and nonfossils including fossilized bones, feces,
trackways, gastroliths, feathers, impressions
of skin and internal organs, and "soft
tissues, including blood vessels and cells lining
them. Since the first dinosaur was recognized
in the 19th century, their mounted
There are many misconception about what the
dinosaurs
were. Dinosaurs
were reptiles (horny or scaly.skinned tetrapods
that lay eggs) which lived on land during the
Mesozoic Era (250 - 65 million years ago). Dinosaurs
arose in the Middle or Late Triassic, some 235-230
million years ago. The large marine reptiles
and the flying reptiles of the Mesozoic were
not dinosaurs
|
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| skeletons have become a major
attraction at museums around the world. Dinosaurs
have become a part of world culture, and have
remained consistently popular, especially among
children. They have been featured in bestselling
books and blockbuster films like Jurassic
Park, and new discoveries are regularly
covered by the media. The term is also used
informally to describe any prehistoric reptile,
like the pelycosaur Dimetrodon, the winged pterosaurs,
and the aquatic ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, and
mosasaurs.
The dinosaurs originated during
the Triassic period, some 230 million years
ago. It is clear that dinosaurs are archosaurs.
The Archosauria, or 'ruling reptiles arose over
250 million years ago at the end of the Permian
period, and they beecame important carnivores
in the Triassic. |
