what's the closest living thing to a dinosaur

Introduction

The question of which living organisms are closest to dinosaurs has intrigued scientists for decades. This inquiry delves into the evolutionary lineage and relationships between ancient dinosaurs and modern species, particularly focusing on birds and other vertebrates.

Key Insights

Birds as Closest Relatives to Dinosaurs:
- Many paleontologists consider dromaeosaurs, a group of theropod dinosaurs, to be the closest dinosaurian relatives of birds. The discovery of Microraptor, a small, feathered dinosaur, supports this view.
- Maniraptora, a clade that includes birds and their closest relatives among theropod dinosaurs, shows a variety of evolutionary adaptations, further linking birds to their dinosaur ancestors.
Phylogenetic Relationships Among Vertebrates:
- Phylogenetic studies indicate that tunicates, rather than cephalochordates, are the closest living relatives of vertebrates. This finding has implications for understanding the evolutionary origins of vertebrates.
- Lungfish, rather than coelacanths, are identified as the closest living relatives of land vertebrates, based on nuclear protein-coding gene analyses.

Conclusion

The closest living relatives to dinosaurs are birds, specifically those within the Maniraptora clade, which includes theropod dinosaurs like dromaeosaurs. This connection is supported by fossil evidence and evolutionary studies. Additionally, while tunicates and lungfish provide insights into the broader evolutionary relationships among vertebrates, birds remain the most direct descendants of dinosaurs.

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What's the closest living thing to a dinosaur

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.

Tunicates and not cephalochordates are the closest living relatives of vertebrates

Tunicates, not cephalochordates, are the closest living relatives of vertebrates, redefining the origins of chordate animals and influencing the interpretation of developmental and genomic studies.

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.

A Gigantic, Exceptionally Complete Titanosaurian Sauropod Dinosaur from Southern Patagonia, Argentina

Dreadnoughtus schrani is the most complete titanosaur yet discovered, providing new insights into their anatomy and evolutionary history.

Nuclear protein-coding genes support lungfish and not the coelacanth as the closest living relatives of land vertebrates.

Lungfishes are the closest living relatives of land vertebrates, with high bootstrap values, Bayesian posterior probabilities, and likelihood ratio tests supporting this conclusion.

43 genes support the lungfish-coelacanth grouping related to the closest living relative of tetrapods with the Bayesian method under the coalescence model

Lungfishes and coelacanths form a monophyletic sister-group that is the closest living relative of tetrapods, supported by high Bayesian posterior probabilities and high taxon jackknife supports.

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.

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.

A New Giant Titanosauria (Dinosauria: Sauropoda) from the Late Cretaceous Bauru Group, Brazil

The new taxon Austroposeidon magnificus reveals that giant titanosaurs were present in Brazil during the Late Cretaceous, with a size estimate of around 25 meters and unique osteological features in the cervical vertebrae.

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

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