If birds are dinosaurs then what are dinosaurs?

[Wudang]

They've got feathers! What kind of lizard has feathers? They are indeed terrible at being lizards.

Beautiful plumage. Dinosaurs aren't dead, they're just pining for the fjords.

 

[theprestige]

They've got feathers! What kind of lizard has feathers? They are indeed terrible at being lizards.

On the other hand, most of them can fly. We don't call a man that can fly a terrible man. We call him Superman.

 

[Jack by the hedge]

They've got feathers! What kind of lizard has feathers? They are indeed terrible at being lizards.

But quite good at being dinosaurs since lots of dinosaurs turn out to have had feathers, or feathery filaments.

 

[Ziggurat]

On the other hand, most of them can fly.

Most birds, but not most dinosaurs.

We don't call a man that can fly a terrible man. We call him Superman.

Because he was also good at being a man. He was more than a man. Chickens can fly, but we don't call them Supermen, because they're terrible at being men. They are less than men in every respect except flying, and that's not enough.

 

[Ziggurat]

But quite good at being dinosaurs since lots of dinosaurs turn out to have had feathers, or feathery filaments.

Yes, dinosaurs are good at being dinosaurs. Kind of goes with the territory.

Or terrortory, if you will.

 

[Steve]

Yes, dinosaurs are good at being dinosaurs. Kind of goes with the territory.

Or terrortory, if you will.

They were the best evah! Today we've got Barney.

 

[theprestige]

Most birds, but not most dinosaurs.



Because he was also good at being a man. He was more than a man. Chickens can fly, but we don't call them Supermen, because they're terrible at being men. They are less than men in every respect except flying, and that's not enough.

I'm charitably going to assume you hadn't had your coffee yet, when you typed this : )

 

[Ziggurat]

They were the best evah! Today we've got Barney.

I don't think Barney is actually a dinosaur. I think he's actually some sort of newt.

 

[Carlotta]

I don't think Barney is actually a dinosaur. I think he's actually some sort of newt.

But he doesn't get better!

 

[DevilsAdvocate]

Kurt Vonnegut:

What the white stuff in bird poop?
That's bird poop, too.


Mitch Hedberg:

I used to do drugs. I still do, but I used to, too.

 

[arthwollipot]

Dinosauria are defined as the last common ancestor of Triceratops horridus, Passer domesticus and Diplodocus carnegii, and all of its descendants.

Some birds are flyers. All birds are dinosaurs. Therefore some dinosaurs are flyers. Similarly for swimmers.

Even for non-avian dinosaurs, their terrestriality is an observation, not part of the definition.

I was about to make an argument about avian dinosaurs and contemporaneousness, but then I realised that avian dinosaurs were contemporaneous with terrestrial dinosaurs.

I was wrong. Thank you for the correction.

 

[Venom]

This is also why the nitpicking "Pterosaurs and aquatic mammals aren't dinosaurs!" thing is kind of annoying to me, as if "Dinosaur" is some super-specific scientific term.

That division [Ornithischia & Saurischia] is no longer recognised as fundamental. There are too many exceptions.

I've parroted this talking point in the past without being able to explain why. I checked Wikipedia and it says dinosaurs are defined as the descendants of the last common ancestor of the Ornithischia and Saurischia, and this excludes pterosaurs and the conventional marine reptiles.

 

[Resume]

Why are there monkeys?

 

[zooterkin]

Ahem. *nerd snort* Technically, "thunder lizard" is the translation of the word brontosaurus. Birds aren't descended from brontosaurus. The words you're looking for are "terrible lizard".

The word "tetrapod" literally means "four limbs". What does one look like? Everything that has four limbs is a tetrapod. Some of them are bad ass killers, some of them are fluffy bunnies.

Some are both.

 

[Ziggurat]

Everything that has four limbs is a tetrapod.

But not every tetrapod has four limbs.

 

[arthwollipot]

But not every tetrapod has four limbs.

I'm not aware of one that doesn't. Like I said, it's the literal translation of the word. Care to enlighten me?

Oh, you might be thinking of things like whales, which are descended from four limbed creatures but whose hindlimbs have atrophied? Yes, that is a notable exception. Good point.

 

[Venom]

The extinct Moa are notable for being two-limbed birds. Not even vestigial traces of their wings remain.

Checkmate cladistics.

 

[arthwollipot]

The extinct Moa are notable for being two-limbed birds. Not even vestigial traces of their wings remain.

Checkmate cladistics.

Really? I did not know that.

ETA: You know how we know they're extinct? Because there are no moa.

 

[DevilsAdvocate]

Really? I did not know that.

ETA: You know how we know they're extinct? Because there are no moa.

Ollivander: Terrible, yes, but great.

 

[Roboramma]

I'm not aware of one that doesn't. Like I said, it's the literal translation of the word. Care to enlighten me?

Oh, you might be thinking of things like whales, which are descended from four limbed creatures but whose hindlimbs have atrophied? Yes, that is a notable exception. Good point.

Another notable exception is snakes.