Eli5: why are birds believed to be the descendants of the dinosaurs?
In: Earth Science
-Nowadays we have a pretty extensive repository of fossils documenting the early evolution of birds.
-Genetic analysis places birds as being closely related to modern crocodiles and turtles, not at all close to mammals; with that knowledge, dinosaurs are the only “kinda-birdish” transition that would make sense, unless you’re proposing all of the differences of birds spontaneously erupted into existence.
The largest physical similarities that have been argued over the decades even before we had decisive proof:
-Many dinosaurs were feathered and small, like birds.
-Many dinosaurs have hollowed bones, like birds.
-Dinosaurs have wishbones, like birds.
-Dinosaurs were warm-blooded, like birds.
-Many dinosaurs have ankle, wrist, and hip joints similar to those in birds.
-An assortment of other evidence regarding fleshy tissue and behavior that isn’t really proven, for example there’s some evidence from fossil imprints that dinosaur lung shape and structure could have been like birds.
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