Hey Lykkers! Are you ready for a fascinating journey into the evolutionary history of birds and dinosaurs? Imagine a rooster strutting around a farmyard - doesn't it remind you of a dinosaur?
Well, that's because birds are actually descendants of dinosaurs! So, the big question is: Are birds considered reptiles too?
<h3>Birds as Modern-day Reptiles</h3>
According to Martin Stervander, an evolutionary biologist, and curator of birds, birds can indeed be classified as reptiles.
This may seem surprising, as traditionally birds were not grouped with reptiles due to having feathers and being warm-blooded, unlike classic reptiles possessing scales and being cold-blooded.
<h3>Evolution of Classification Systems</h3>
In the past, biologists used the Linnaean method, created by Carl Linnaeus in the 1730s, to categorize living organisms based on physical traits. However, this system did not consider genetic information.
Thanks to advancements in genetics from the 1940s, scientists now use phylogeny to classify organisms based on DNA similarities and trace their evolutionary history.
<h3>The Cladistic Approach to Understanding Birds</h3>
In phylogeny, organisms are grouped into "clades," which are branches on the tree of life stemming from a common ancestor. Modern birds belong to the Neornithes clade, which emerged 80 million years ago. Interestingly, this clade is a subset of the Theropoda clade, a group of two-legged, mostly carnivorous dinosaurs, which is part of the broader Dinosauria clade. This nested hierarchy reveals the close evolutionary relationship between birds and dinosaurs.
<h3>Dinosaur-Bird Connection</h3>
Surprisingly, some dinosaurs were warm-blooded and sported feathers, blurring the lines between reptiles and birds. There was even a bird-like dinosaur named the "Wonderchicken" (Asteriornis) that existed alongside its dinosaur relatives 66 million years ago. If you were to bring back an Asteriornis, it would look just like a typical bird today!
How Did Dinosaurs Evolve Into Birds?
Video by Seeker
