Thread: Bird or Dinosaur?

The BBC news item http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6313741.stm about extinct flightless birds has got me wondering. Current thinking suggests that birds originated as dinosaurs and there were many dinosaurs with beaks rather than teeth, so what is the anatomical difference between these ancient "birds" and dinosaurs? Could we have had dinosaurs with feathers, or would they just be called birds?

i think they are more often refered to as "THE MISSING LINK"

Originally Posted by Fozzie

The BBC news item http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6313741.stm about extinct flightless birds has got me wondering. Current thinking suggests that birds originated as dinosaurs and there were many dinosaurs with beaks rather than teeth, so what is the anatomical difference between these ancient "birds" and dinosaurs? Could we have had dinosaurs with feathers, or would they just be called birds?

I think its been accepted by many people that certain dinosaurs, including t-rex had some feathers

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feathered_dinosaurs

yes i know its a wiki

http://www.amnh.org/science/specials/dinobird.html