what is the closest thing to dinosaurs

Introduction

The question of what is the closest living relative to dinosaurs has intrigued scientists for decades. Research has focused on identifying the evolutionary links between ancient dinosaurs and modern species, particularly birds. This synthesis examines the key findings from multiple research papers to provide a cohesive understanding of the closest relatives to dinosaurs.

Key Insights

Bird-like Dinosaurs:
- Microraptor, a small, feathered dinosaur, is considered one of the most bird-like dinosaurs discovered, belonging to the dromaeosaurs, which are closely related to birds.
- Maniraptora, a clade that includes birds and their closest theropod relatives, shows a variety of ecomorphologies, including features shared with both reptiles and birds, indicating a close evolutionary relationship.
Dromaeosauridae and Maniraptorans:
- Halszkaraptor escuilliei, a newly discovered maniraptoran from Mongolia, exhibits a mix of features found in both non-avian maniraptorans and birds, suggesting a close evolutionary link to birds.
Early Dinosauromorphs:
- The discovery of a new lagerpetid dinosauromorph from the Late Triassic period in Brazil provides evidence of the early diversification of dinosauromorphs, which are closely related to dinosaurs and coexisted with them for millions of years.

Conclusion

The closest living relatives to dinosaurs are birds, as evidenced by the evolutionary traits shared between bird-like dinosaurs such as Microraptor and maniraptorans like Halszkaraptor. These findings highlight the significant evolutionary links between ancient theropod dinosaurs and modern birds, reinforcing the idea that birds are the direct descendants of certain dinosaur lineages.

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What is the closest thing to dinosaurs

Summary

Introduction

Key Insights

Conclusion

Sources and full results

Tiny, Feathered Dino Is Most Birdlike Yet

Microraptor is the smallest and most birdlike dinosaur yet discovered, belonging to the dromaeosaurs, which are considered the closest dinosaurian relatives of birds.

Synchrotron scanning reveals amphibious ecomorphology in a new clade of bird-like dinosaurs

Halszkaraptor escuilliei, a new clade of bird-like dinosaurs, exhibits amphibious ecomorphology, convergent with short-tailed birds, and shows neck hyperelongation for food procurement.

The oldest known co-occurrence of dinosaurs and their closest relatives: A new lagerpetid from a Carnian (Upper Triassic) bed of Brazil with implications for dinosauromorph biostratigraphy, early diversification and biogeography

The new lagerpetid dinosauromorph from Brazil confirms the oldest known co-occurrence of dinosaurs and their closest relatives, reinforcing the idea that they coexisted for at least 21 million years before their extinction.

A large, short-armed, winged dromaeosaurid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Early Cretaceous of China and its implications for feather evolution

Zhenyuanlong suni is a new genus and species of large-bodied, short-armed dromaeosaurid from the Early Cretaceous of China, providing new insights into feather evolution and dromaeosaurid phylogeny.

The smallest known non-avian theropod dinosaur

Microraptor zhaoianus is the first mature non-avian theropod dinosaur found smaller than Archaeopteryx, improving our understanding of the morphological transition to birds and their palaeoecology.

Osteohistology of the silesaurid Sacisaurus agudoensis from southern Brazil (Late Triassic) and implications for growth in early dinosaurs.

The Late Triassic silesaurid Sacisaurus agudoensis shows rapid growth in its limb bones, supporting the idea that rapid growth occurred early in the dinosauromorph lineage.

The Anatomy of Asilisaurus kongwe, a Dinosauriform from the Lifua Member of the Manda Beds (~Middle Triassic) of Africa

This study provides the first complete anatomy of Asilisaurus kongwe, a dinosauriform from the Middle Triassic Manda Beds of Tanzania, revealing its unique skull and plesiomorphic features, suggesting high homoplasy and parallel trends within Silesauridae and early dinosaur lineages

The Femoral Ontogeny and Long Bone Histology of the Middle Triassic (?Late Anisian) Dinosauriform Asilisaurus kongwe and Implications for the Growth of Early Dinosaurs

The Middle Triassic Asilisaurus kongwe femur ontogeny suggests a plesiomorphic pattern for Dinosauria, with size being a poor predictor of maturity in early dinosauriforms.

Increases in sampling support the southern Gondwanan hypothesis for the origin of dinosaurs

A southern Gondwanan origin for dinosaurs remains the most plausible hypothesis, supported by increased taxonomic and geographic sampling and divergent phylogenetic results.

A nesting dinosaur

This fossil specimen suggests the presence of avian brooding behavior in non-avian dinosaurs, providing the strongest evidence yet for the presence of advanced reproductive behavior in non-avian theropods.

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