| 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
thatdinosaurs are archosaurs. The Archosauria,
or 'ruling reptiles arose over 250 million years
ago at the end of the Permian period, and they
beecame important vcarnivores in the Triassic.
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