Dinosaur | FUN FACT:; ONE FUN AND FASCINATING FACT ABOUT DINOSAURS IS THAT NOT ALL OF THEM WENT EXTINCT—SOME ARE STILL AROUND TODAY IN THE FORM OF BIRDS! THAT’S RIGHT: MODERN BIRDS ARE CONSIDERED DIRECT DESCENDANTS OF THEROPOD DINOSAURS, A GROUP THAT INCLUDES THE FAMOUS TYRANNOSAURUS REX AND VELOCIRAPTOR. THIS EVOLUTIONARY LINK HAS BEEN SUPPORTED BY NUMEROUS FOSSIL DISCOVERIES SHOWING THAT MANY THEROPOD DINOSAURS HAD FEATHERS, HOLLOW BONES, AND OTHER AVIAN TRAITS. IN FACT, THE ICONIC ARCHAEOPTERYX, WHICH LIVED ABOUT 150 MILLION YEARS AGO DURING THE LATE JURASSIC PERIOD, IS OFTEN SEEN AS A TRANSITIONAL FOSSIL BETWEEN NON-AVIAN DINOSAURS AND BIRDS. SCIENTISTS BELIEVE THAT SOME SMALL, FEATHERED DINOSAURS EVENTUALLY ADAPTED TO GLIDING AND THEN TO POWERED FLIGHT, GIVING RISE TO THE INCREDIBLE DIVERSITY OF BIRDS WE SEE TODAY. SO THE NEXT TIME YOU SEE A SPARROW OR A HAWK, YOU’RE ACTUALLY LOOKING AT THE DISTANT RELATIVE OF CREATURES THAT ONCE RULED THE EARTH—AN AWE-INSPIRING REMINDER THAT EVOLUTION DOESN’T ALWAYS END WITH EXTINCTION, BUT SOMETIMES WITH TRANSFORMATION. | image tagged in gifs,dinosaur | made w/ Imgflip video-to-gif maker
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