do dinosaurs still exist

Introduction

The question of whether dinosaurs still exist today is a fascinating one that has intrigued scientists and the public alike. While it is widely accepted that non-avian dinosaurs went extinct around 66 million years ago, there is ongoing debate and research into whether any descendants of these ancient creatures still roam the Earth.

Key Insights

Asteroid Impact Hypothesis:
- The prevailing hypothesis is that an asteroid impact caused the sudden extinction of non-avian dinosaurs around 66 million years ago .
Climate Adaptation and Extinction:
- Dinosaurs were able to live in cold climates, as evidenced by polar dinosaur fossils, which challenges the idea that long-term climatic cooling led to their extinction .
Birds as Living Dinosaurs:
- Some paleontologists argue that birds are the living descendants of ancient dinosaurs, suggesting that in a way, dinosaurs are still alive today.
Diversity and Distribution:
- Dinosaurs were highly diverse and widespread, with fossils found on every continent. They were still diversifying and occupying prominent ecological roles up until their extinction .
Fossil Record and Evolution:
- The fossil record shows that dinosaurs evolved rapidly and had a high diversity, especially during the Late Cretaceous period. However, the fossil record is incomplete, and new discoveries continue to provide insights into their evolution and distribution .

Conclusion

In summary, while non-avian dinosaurs went extinct around 66 million years ago, the idea that birds are their living descendants suggests that dinosaurs, in a sense, still exist today. The asteroid impact hypothesis remains the most widely accepted explanation for their sudden extinction. Dinosaurs were highly adaptable and diverse, living in various climates and regions across the globe. The fossil record, though incomplete, continues to shed light on their evolution and eventual extinction.

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Do dinosaurs still exist

Summary

Consensus Meter

Introduction

Key Insights

Conclusion

Sources and full results

Presentation: What Happened to the Dinosaurs?

Dinosaurs were likely driven to extinction by climatic change, plate tectonics, volcanic activity, or an asteroid impact, but some paleontologists believe birds are the living descendants of ancient dinosaurs.

Counting dinosaurs: how many kinds were there?

Dinosaurs have lived for 900-1200 genera, with the fossil record being 25% complete, and their diversity peaked in the Maastrichtian near the peak of their historic diversity.

Polar dinosaurs and the question of dinosaur extinction: a brief review

Dinosaurs were able to live in cool climates, invalidating the idea of long-term climatic cooling as the cause of their extinction at the end of the Cretaceous.

Models for the Rise of the Dinosaurs

Dinosaurs arose in the early Triassic during the recovery from the Permo-Triassic mass extinction, and new fossils suggest they originated early in the Middle Triassic.

The last dinosaurs of Brazil: The Bauru Group and its implications for the end-Cretaceous mass extinction.

The Bauru Group of Brazil shows a diversity of dinosaurs, including titanosaurian sauropods and abelisaurid and carcharodontosaurid theropods, survived to the end of the Cretaceous, suggesting southern dinosaurs were still diversifying and occupying prominent

Basal dinosauriform and theropod dinosaurs from the mid–late Norian (Late Triassic) of Poland: implications for Triassic dinosaur evolution and distribution

Silesaurids persisted alongside true dinosaurs in the mid-late Norian of Europe, and silesaurid-herrerasaurid-neotheropod assemblages were more widespread geographically and latitudinally than previously thought, potentially indicating weak palaeolatitu

The last polar dinosaurs: high diversity of latest Cretaceous arctic dinosaurs in Russia

Dinosaurs were highly diverse in Arctic regions just before the Cretaceous-Tertiary mass extinction event, living in a temperate climate with temperatures above 10°C, challenging the theory that extinction was due to temperature decline caused by the Chicxulub impact.

The extinction of the dinosaurs

The sudden extinction of non-avian dinosaurs 66 million years ago was likely due to a large bolide impact, with restructuring of Cretaceous dinosaur faunas in North America potentially leading to reduced diversity of large-bodied herbivores.

Early dinosaurs: A phylogenetic study

The most likely phylogenetic placement of early dinosaurs is as a monophyletic group, with Saurischia and Ornithischia as sister taxa, but the affinities of Silesaurus and Guaibasaurus remain uncertain.

A palaeoequatorial ornithischian and new constraints on early dinosaur diversification

The new ornithischian dinosaur from the earliest Jurassic of the Venezuelan Andes expands the early palaeogeographical range of Ornithischia and provides insights into early dinosaur growth rates, sociality evolution, and the rapid global dinosaur radiation after the end-Triassic mass

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