Dinosaur closest living relatives

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Dinosaur Closest Living Relatives: Birds and Crocodilians

Archosauria: The Shared Ancestry of Dinosaurs, Birds, and Crocodilians

Dinosaurs, birds, and crocodilians all belong to a group called Archosauria. This shared ancestry means that the closest living relatives of dinosaurs are birds and crocodilians, which are the only surviving archosaurs besides dinosaurs themselves 110. Birds and crocodilians, however, are very different in their biology and anatomy, reflecting the diversity within this group .

Birds as the Closest Living Relatives to Dinosaurs

There is strong evidence from both morphology and molecular studies that birds are the closest living relatives of dinosaurs. Birds evolved from theropod dinosaurs, a group that includes famous species like Velociraptor and Tyrannosaurus rex. This evolutionary relationship is supported by many shared features, such as feathers, certain skeletal structures, and aspects of their respiratory systems 29. In fact, birds are considered modern-day avian dinosaurs, and their rapid growth rates and unique developmental patterns are inherited from their dinosaur ancestors 89.

Crocodilians: The Next Closest Relatives

Crocodilians, which include crocodiles, alligators, and caimans, are the next closest living relatives to both dinosaurs and birds. While they share a common ancestor with dinosaurs, their evolutionary path diverged long ago, leading to significant differences in metabolism, anatomy, and lifestyle. Crocodilians are ectothermic (cold-blooded), unlike birds, which are endothermic (warm-blooded) 110. Despite these differences, studying crocodilians helps scientists understand certain aspects of dinosaur biology, especially in areas where birds and dinosaurs differ 110.

Dinosaur Precursors and Evolutionary Relationships

Research on early dinosaur relatives, such as silesaurids and other dinosauromorphs, helps clarify the evolutionary steps leading to true dinosaurs and their modern descendants, the birds 467. These studies show that rapid growth and some skeletal features appeared early in the dinosaur lineage, but more complex traits seen in birds evolved later 78. The fossil record and anatomical studies consistently place birds as the direct descendants of theropod dinosaurs, with crocodilians as their closest living outgroup 246.

Conclusion

In summary, the closest living relatives of dinosaurs are birds, which are direct descendants of theropod dinosaurs, and crocodilians, which share a more distant common ancestor with both dinosaurs and birds. This relationship is supported by extensive fossil, anatomical, and genetic evidence, making birds and crocodilians the best modern analogs for understanding dinosaur biology and evolution 124678910.

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Most relevant research papers on this topic

Dinosaur Physiology: Were Dinosaurs Warm‐blooded?

Dinosaurs were likely ectothermic, with lower metabolic rates than modern mammals or birds, but could maintain high body temperatures through behavioral or inertial thermoregulation due to favorable Mesozoic climate conditions.

2013·

1citation

·W. J. Hillenius

N COMMEN Detecting Dinosaur DNA

The DNA sequence from Cretaceous bone fragments suggests a possible dinosaur, but its phylogenetic relationship with birds and crocodilians remains unclear.

2008·

0citations

·Marc et al.

Enigmatic dinosaur precursors bridge the gap to the origin of Pterosauria

Lagerpetids are the sister group of pterosaurs, shortening the temporal and morphological gap between the oldest and closest relatives, and strengthening the evidence that pterosaurs belong to the avian line of archosaurs.

Rigorous JournalHighly Cited

2020·

101citations

·M. Ezcurra et al.

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

2019·

43citations

·S. Nesbitt et al.

The closest evolutionary relatives of pterosaurs: What the morphospace occupation of different skeletal regions tell us about lagerpetids

Lagerpetids are the closest evolutionary relatives to pterosaurs, but their postcranial skeletons show distinct differences, suggesting pressure for new niche occupation during the Triassic.

2022·

2citations

·R. Müller

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.

2018·

24citations

·Júlio C. A. Marsola et al.

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.

2019·

9citations

·Fábio H Veiga et al.

Anomalously high variation in postnatal development is ancestral for dinosaurs but lost in birds

High intraspecific variation in postnatal development is ancestral for dinosaurs and their closest relatives, but lost in more derived nonavian theropods, potentially contributing to the rise of dinosaur dominance during the Triassic-Jurassic mass extinction.

Highly Cited

2016·

70citations

·C. Griffin et al.

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.

2015·

61citations

·J. Lü et al.

Do ontogenetic changes during incubation interfere with the interpretation of incubation mode in dinosaur eggs?

Embryonic development in dinosaur eggs leads to changes in eggshell structure, potentially explaining variations in fossil deposits and nesting strategies.

2023·

0citations

·Mariela Soledad Fernández et al.

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