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Dinosaurs

Dinosaurs. From Your Questions. What events separate the periods of the Mesozoic. Mass extinctions – mainly of cephalopods First appearances of new cephalopods First appearances of various types of “plankton”. Dinosaur Distribution. Where are they found?

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Dinosaurs

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  1. Dinosaurs From Your Questions

  2. What events separate the periods of the Mesozoic • Mass extinctions – mainly of cephalopods • First appearances of new cephalopods • First appearances of various types of “plankton”

  3. Dinosaur Distribution • Where are they found? • United States, Argentina, Mongolia, China, Central Asia, Africa, Antarctica, etc. • Did dinosaurs live in NY? If so, which ones? • Footprints of Coelophysis • Why did they first appear in S. America? • Favorable environmental conditions/Ecological opportunity

  4. Dinosaur Distribution • What environments did they inhabit? • River Valleys, plains, coastal lowlands, etc. • Did they live in cool climates? • Probably, but still under investigation

  5. Dinosaur Distribution • How abundant were they? • Probably at least as abundant as Mammals are now. • Some indications of large herds of hundreds of individuals • What were the relative abundances of terrestrial and aquatic forms? • Majority were terrestrial

  6. What was the vegetation like? • Seed Ferns • Gingkos • Flowering plants in Cretaceous

  7. What ecologies existed (food chains)? • Terrestrial vegetation • Herbivorous insects, amphibians, reptiles, dinosaurs, mammals • Carnivorous amphibians, reptiles, dinosaurs and mammals • Scavenging amphibians, reptiles, dinosaurs and mammals • Decomposers: fungi, bacteria, etc.

  8. What is the difference between reptiles and dinosaurs? • Reptiles and dinosaurs descended from “primitive” “stem reptiles” • Major differences in skull structure • Major differences in pelvic structure and leg orientation • Probable differences in thermal regulation

  9. Dinosaur Systematics & Biostratigraphy • What is the oldest dinosaur known? • Triassic • From what are they descended? • Early “stem” reptiles • To what are they related? • Reptiles and probably birds • How many species have been found? • Hundreds, and counting! • How long were they around? • Approximately 180 Ma!

  10. Ornithischians and Saurischians • Differences in pelvic structure • Functional differences? • Relationship to bipedalism?

  11. Paleobiology of Dinosaurs • Why were they so large? • Why not? • Were they warm or cold blooded? • Strong evidence favors warm-blooded: • Trackways – speed • Haversian canals in bones • Skeletal morphology – active habits • Affiliation with birds • Feathers as insulation on some

  12. Paleobiology of Dinosaurs • What do we know about their diet and how do we know it? • Herbivores and carnivores: • Distinction made on dentition, skeletal structure, gastroliths • Tooth morphology – clues to diet • Coprolites – direct evidence • Morrison Formation – a dinosaur lagerstatte • What do we know about their internal systems? • Rare instances of preservation: Italian Alps specimen • How die they communicate? • Vocalization with and without “reverb” chambers in skull. • How do we know what we know? • The fossils!

  13. Paleobiology of Dinosaurs • Has any soft tissue been found? • Have any babies ever been found in eggs? • Did they have scales or feathers? • How long did it take them to grow so large?

  14. Paleobiology of Dinosaurs • Have any babies ever been found in eggs?

  15. Dinosaur Fact File • What was the first dinosaur? • Herrarasaurus from Argentina • What was the smallest dinosaur? • Micropachycephalosaurus - 20 inches long • Echinodon - 24 inches long • Saltopus - 24 inches long • Microceratops - 30 inches long • Pisanosaurus - 36 inches long

  16. Dinosaur Fact File: Largest Diplodocids and Titanosaurs • Seismosaurus • 84 feet (25.6 m) • 150 feet (45.7 m) • 200,000 pounds (90,720 kg) Seismosaurus - diplodocid Argentinasaurus - titanosaur Bruhathkayosaurus - titanosaur

  17. Dinosaur Fact File • Could dinosaurs swim? • Yes, evidence includes toe scratches on bottom sediments. • Did “Cave men” and dinosaurs co-exist? • NO!!! They are separated in time by nearly 65 Ma (with apologies to Fred Flintstone and Dino) • Was the Loch Ness Monster real? • NO!!! It has been exposed as a hoax by the person that faked the most widely cited photographic “evidence.”

  18. What caused their extinction? • Multiple hypotheses: • Bolide impact • Volcanism • Climate change • All of the above • Do they have any living descendents? • Maybe!

  19. Is There a Dinosaur in Your Backyard? Confusciornis Archaeopteryx Early Baby Bird 135 Ma Caudiopteryx

  20. Miscellaneous and/or Unanswerable Questions • What was their average life span? • How intelligent were they? • Could they talk? – probable vocal abilities • Were they“mean”? • Why is the source of children’s fascination with dinosaurs? • How would dinosaurs and humans coexist? • What color were they? • Did they have territorial battles? • Were some dinosaurs monogamous?

  21. Reptiles and Mammals • Reptile Adaptive Radiation included: • Dinosaurs • Therapsids – mammal-like reptiles • Therapsids gave rise to mammals

  22. What does it mean to be a mammal? • Characteristics of mammals?

  23. Early Mammals • Small, rodent-like creatures • Possibly nocturnal • Some lines became extinct in Cretaceous • Late Cretaceous to Early Cenozoic Adaptive Radiation

  24. Major Groups of Extant Mammals • Placentals • Marsupials • Monotremes • Edentates

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