Why is the chicken more closely related to the T. Rex as opposed to something like an Ostrich?
In: Biology
Ostriches, chickens, and *T. rex* are all descendants of dinosaurs, but *T. rex* is a different branch of dinosaur. Ostriches and chickens are both descendants of *archaeopteryx* or its relatives, making them “maniraptorans” (literally, “hand-thief”), dinosaurs that can fly. The *tyrannosauroidea* split from the ancestors of the *maniraptora* some 170-200 million years ago.
Like *all* modern birds, they are more closely related to *T. rex* than any non-bird species today is, but that’s like saying you are more closely related to giant sloths or woolly mammoths than any non-mammal species is. Of course you are! That doesn’t mean you’re *closely* related.
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