There are many stories about dinosaurs that we have heard. They existed long before our time, and there are no dinosaurs left today. There are a lot of interesting and fascinating facts about dinosaurs that have been presented in movies and articles about them. We can better understand the history of our planet by studying the stories of dinosaurs.
For more information, please visit Dinosaurs That Exist Today.
Discover our collection of dinosaur lamps if you are passionate about dinosaurs and would like to buy a gift for yourself or a child.
Life on Earth emerged million years ago, according to the latest data, and evolution has left countless living organisms behind. Dinosaurs, for example, have evolved into new species while others have disappeared.
During the Mesozoic Era (251 MYA. to 65 MYA.) there were three major periods: the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous. During these periods, dinosaurs were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates on our planet. This was a group of extremely diverse reptiles that are thought to have virtually disappeared during the Cretaceous-Tertiary mass extinction that ended the Mesozoic era.
There are dinosaurs still alive today: science explains
Are dinosaurs still alive today? Yes, there are still dinosaurs living among us today, but they are different from the ones that existed millions of years ago.
Reptiles of the modern age are not dinosaurs
Popular culture has taken it upon itself to recreate dinosaurs as reptile-like animals, especially because of the scales. There is, however, a difference between the two families.
There was a time when reptiles and dinosaurs coexisted, but that does not mean they were the same species. Since they differ in physical and genetic characteristics, they cannot be considered relatives.
Today&#;s reptiles are the result of a long evolutionary process that allowed them to adapt and survive.
You might believe that today&#;s reptiles are descendants of dinosaurs because of the image of dinosaurs, but this is not true.
Which dinosaurs are still alive today?
Would you like to know if there is still a Dinosaur alive today? There are descendants of these animals today, but they are not scaly like reptiles. Birds are their closest relatives. A Tyrannosaurus Rex for example is closer to a chicken or turkey than a crocodile or turtle.
According to scientific findings, birds and dinosaurs share a common bond that survived extinction, evolved, and produced offspring today.
It is not just that birds evolved from dinosaurs, but that all birds are dinosaurs, according to paleontologist Aki Watanabe of the American Museum of Natural History.
The lineage could be compared to that of humans and primates who share a common ancestor, and in a way, humans are primates.
Dinosaurs also had feathers
Dinosaurs like the
big Stegosaurus
for example didn&#;t have much scientific evidence when they first appeared in popular culture. Furthermore, dinosaurs in movies had to look scary, regardless of their scientific inaccuracies.
Some species, including Tyrannosaurus rex, have feathers similar to modern birds, called proto-feathers.
Since dinosaurs couldn&#;t fly, scientists believe feathers appeared on their bodies to regulate temperature or display themselves for mate or defense purposes.
Dinosaurs and birds have other common characteristics
Dinosaurs and birds also share other characteristics, such as: a fast metabolism, hollow bones that make them lighter, and furculas, which are bones exclusive to birds and theropods. You&#;ve probably seen these bones in chickens. They&#;re called wishbones.
In addition, both species have relatively large brains for their body sizes.
Contrary to what movies have depicted, dinosaurs probably looked more like birds than reptiles.
Every bird, no matter how small or common, is part of an evolutionary lineage that has survived for millions of years.
Modern day animals that lived with the dinosaurs
Millions of years ago, dinosaurs ruled the planet, but there were also other animals that inhabited the planet, some of which have evolved and survived millennia of change.
Sharks
If you are looking for more details, kindly visit How to Make Dinosaur Costumes.
Throughout history, sharks have survived by doing what they do best: hunting. They have managed to remain exactly the same as they were millions of years ago because their bodies haven&#;t evolved much. Even though their size has decreased considerably, their ferocity has not.
Echidnas
A mammal that emerged in the Cenozoic era and has survived thanks to its defenses and adaptations to the terrain, it is one of the first mammals on Earth.
It is a species of anteater with a very long snout that feeds mainly on insects and is protected from predators by dozens of spikes all over its body.
Caimans
The alligator, along with the crocodile, was among the animals that lived with the dinosaurs. They had to change just a little because they could measure twice as much as today, but their structure and feeding habits were the same as today, and they were a very common species at the time.
In addition, it was the most feared due to its ability to move on land as well as in water.
Bees
For millions of years, bees have pollinated flowers around the world. Taking care of them is essential for our planet because some regions of the planet are disappearing, and this could be a major issue.
crabs
The fact that crabs lived alongside dinosaurs might not seem so strange if we discuss it. As we can see from their armored appearance, they have a very similar anatomy to the animals of their time.
The size has been reduced, as in many species, because of the size of the prey they eat, but they still have hard bodies to protect themselves.
65 million years is a long time for giant dinosaurs to live and die without leaving any fossils. The dinosaurs did not all go extinct, scientifically speaking. Many of us see dinosaurs every day, and some even have them in their homes. Modern birds are descendants of dinosaurs.
70 million years ago, Tyrannosaurus rex was the scariest dinosaur around. Today, it&#;s extinct just like any other dinosaur, but there still are some animals roaming the Earth that are connected to those ancient species.
From soaring birds to swimming crocs, we&#;ve found 10 living species that call dinosaurs their (great-great-great-great-great-great-great) grans and grandads.
Who are you calling chicken? Birds descended from a group of two-legged dinosaurs known as theropods, the members of which include the powerful predator Tyrannosaurus rex and the smaller Velociraptors.
Hang on, the T-rex was one of the largest and most fearsome creatures to have ever exist, so all its relatives must be huge and terrifying too, right? Not quite! Fossil studies have found that the mighty T-rex actually shares quite a considerable amount of DNA with modern-day chickens and, by extension, all birds. Now you&#;ll never look at a humble pigeon the same way!
Chomp on this fun fact: many animals that you see today share some impressive connections with dinosaurs, including crocodiles &#; and you can really see the similarities in their rubbery skin, their fierce teeth, and their claws!
Chickens may be the rightful descendants of dinosaurs, but we also know that crocodilians like crocodiles and alligators share common ancestors with dinosaurs too. In fact, crocs as we know them today are actually pretty similar to their ancient ancestors of the Cretaceous period (about 145-166 million years ago) &#; and to think that these creatures outlived the dinosaurs!
Recent studies have shown that turtles belong in the group Archelosauria, along with relatives like birds, crocodiles, and &#; you guessed it &#; dinosaurs.
Turtles evolved alongside dinosaurs, with sea turtles emerging as a distinct type about 110 million years ago. All living species of sea turtle have origins that can be traced back to ancient times; about 80 million years ago, a genus of extinct sea turtles called Archelon swam the oceans. Each one of these guys was over four metres long and measured at five metres wide from flipper to flipper &#; we&#;re shell-shocked!
Ostriches are whacky-looking creatures at the best of times, but did you know that they&#;re very closely related to a species of dinosaur dating back to the late Cretaceous period? And, when you think about it, this makes sense &#; because ostriches do have something of a dinosaur look about them.
Their overall size and shape are quite similar to that of a handful of dinosaur species, including the notorious velociraptor; even their talons are claw-like. This remarkable bird, now native to the plains of Africa, has survived a whole host of extinction events, having walked the Earth for over 66 million years.
When we think of dinosaurs, we imagine huge beasts roaming the Earth, but not every creature was so disproportionately large. Indeed, ground level was a hive of activity, with one of the most prevalent animals being one we&#;re very familiar with today: the snake.
Snakes have been around for millions upon millions of years, somehow slithering their way out of umpteen mass extinctions. And scientists can prove this, with the discovery of several fossilised snakes revealing that they&#;ve been around for over 140 million years &#; that&#;s twice as old as Mr T-Rex.
Sharks may not look like your typical dinosaur, but these iconic creatures of the deep have been around longer than almost any other animal on the planet &#; over 450 million years to be exact. That means, the sharks we know and love today are descended from creatures that were around millions of years before dinosaurs were even a concept. It&#;s almost impossible to fathom.
Of course, sharks haven&#;t always looked like they do now; nor were they always this size. Fossils show us that sharks used to be much bigger, with the largest known species, the megalodon, being around the size of a blue whale!
Crustaceans, such as crabs and lobsters, have shown some real staying power over the centuries, with several species known to have been around since the time of the dinosaurs. Indeed, many species of lobster predate dinosaurs by hundreds of millions of years, and they&#;re one of the earliest known species of filter-feeders on record.
And, as with sharks, we know that modern crustaceans are much smaller than their great-great-great-great grandparents. Fossilised remains highlight some truly formidable specimens; we&#;re not sure we would have been as keen to take a dip during the time of the dinosaurs.
Bees are one of the most important creatures to inhabit planet Earth, and they&#;ve done so successfully for a lot longer than you might expect. Research shows that bees emerged during the Cretaceous period (approximately 60 million years ago), so it&#;s almost certain they were buzzing from flower to flower when T-Rex roamed the wilderness.
What we do understand about bees, however, is that they aren&#;t invulnerable to mass extinction events. Scientists believe their numbers were hit on several occasions throughout history, though none were as serious as the threat that they currently face through habitat loss.
It&#;s not much of a stretch of the imagination to believe that duck-billed platypuses were around during the time of the dinosaurs. These odd-looking creatures, native to eastern Australia, are a truly unique animal, whose only other related species are those found in fossilised remains dating back millions of years.
We&#;re not sure how platypuses survived the mass extinction which took care of their forebears, but we&#;re sure happy to have them around. These unique critters are undeniably cute but sadly, their numbers are in decline &#; with a &#;Near Threatened&#; status on the Conservation Index.
All lizards and reptiles are closely related to dinosaurs, but none more so than tuatara lizards. The last surviving animal within the Sphenodontia family, these lizards, native only to New Zealand, were around when dinosaurs walked the Earth.
Tuatara lizards certainly look primordial, with dark green scales, spiny backs and large, black eyes. These elusive chaps, which are classified as Vulnerable to Extinction, have been around for over 250 million years; it would be a shame to lose them now.
We hope you&#;ve enjoyed discovering some of the animals which really did walk with dinosaurs. Nature lovers young and old can encounter incredible marine life at Blue Reef Aquarium Hastings. For information and tickets, visit the homepage or call our team today on .
Contact us to discuss your requirements of Dinosaur Ride Cars. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.