• Question: What Do You Know About Dinosaurs?

    Asked by bhavinamistry to Davie, Gemma, James P, James V, Nuala on 27 Jun 2012.
    • Photo: James Pope

      James Pope answered on 27 Jun 2012:

      Hi bhavinamistry,

      I know a fair bit about dinosaurs, they are one of the best surviving species on the planet, with their evolutionary chain lasting for almost 200 million years from the Triassic 250 million years ago, through the Jurassic to the Cretaceous which ended at 65 million years ago. As a comparison the human beings one has lasted about 8 million years so far and only Sharks, Crocodiles and Alligators spring to mind as having done better! If it hadn’t been for the asteroid that killed them, they may still be alive today and mammals would not have developed into the main species.

      When people think of dinosaurs they generally think about ones such T-Rex and Triceretops, but these species only really evolved during the Cretaceous, but their ancestors lived throughout the period from 250 million years ago.

      Is there something you’d really like to know about specifically? If so ask me another question or leave a comment and I’ll do my best to give you an answer 🙂

      Dinosaurs covered every continent (although they were very different shapes back then)

    • Photo: James Verdon

      James Verdon answered on 27 Jun 2012:

      Hi bhavinamistry,
      I think James P sums it up pretty well here. The only thing I would add is that not all dinosaurs died out 65 million years ago, when the asteroid hit.

      During the Cretaceous, certain smaller, tree-climbing dinosaurs began to evolve feathers on their bodies and limbs, in order to keep warm. Gradually they started to use their feathered arms to glide down from and between the trees. Little by little, generation by generation, the feathers became more and more adapted to flight, until they had evolved to become birds. So birds evolved from dinosaurs.

      When the asteroid hit, the non-feathered, non-flying dinosaurs were all killed, but the birds survived. So next time you see a bird, remember, its ancestor was a dinosaur!!!

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