0
The earliest birds evolved in the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous periods. The origin and evolution of birds was a subject of much debate amongst scientists. Now, much evidence suggests that they evolved from small theropod dinosaurs. Modern birds emerged and diversified in the Cenozoic Era.
Although their direct lineage is not clearly known, birds have been shown to have a close relation to the dinosaurian theropods, a group of bipedal carnivorous dinosaurs which include every carnivore from the tiny Compsognathus to the massive Tyrannosaurus. It is likely that they evolved from any group of small theropods, such as the dromaeosaurids (commonly known as raptors) but it is not clear exactly which. In any case, these dinos were small, light and fast, and began to develop feathers. Feathers themselves evolved from keratinous filaments. At first these feathers may have been used either for display or warmth, but eventually they became adapted for flight.
The origin of bird flight itself is a debated issue. Some scientists believe the "from the ground up" idea, in which proto-birds ran on the ground and learned to use their feathers to lift them up. Others believe the "from the trees down" idea, in which proto-birds lived in trees and instead jumped down, using their feathers to help them glide.
As evidence that birds evolved from dinosaurs, there have been many transitional fossils found, such Archaeopteryx, Sinosauropteryx and Microraptor, which share features of both dinosaurs and birds. For example, they had teeth, claws, and bony tails, but also had feathers, birdlike skeletons, and were capable of short-term flight. Many small theropods have been found with primitive feather structures, such as Velociraptor.
Genesis 1:20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may flyabove the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
Genesis 1:21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
God made them that way so they can fly. It's tough to fly without wings. It's not easy to fly WITH wings, but it's REALLY tough to fly without them.
Answer:
Wings are the result of evolution and have been developed many times in different species (Insects, bats, pterosaurs, birds).
In birds the present evidence indicates that wings developed with early theropod dinosaurs. Contrary to popular belief birds are not descended from pterosaurs, flying reptiles of the Cretaceous Period (210 to 65.5 million years ago.) The feather coating probably came first for insulation or as a mating display, but early feathered dinosaurs could gain a survival edge if the proto-feathers could give them even a small amount of lift to capture flying insects or to leap from tree to tree. This small edge was all that was need for natural selection to allow the development of better and better wings for better and better flight. By 150 million years ago Archaeopterix was present as an early member of the species we now call birds.
The skeletal adaptations that gave theropod dinosaurs an advantage of better balance or a swift strike to capture prey combined with feathers that may have served as insulation or an impressive display to potential mates to provide the components of a basic wing. A significant advance in flying ability came with the evolution of the alula, a tuft of specialized feathers attached to the thumb that alter airflow and allow control and maneuvering at slow flying speeds, important for controlled takeoffs and landings.
Few subjects in evolutionary theory have posed such intriguing puzzles for so long as the origin of birds. Evidence of avian beginnings has been elusive in the fossil record because birds' light, hollow bones rapidly decompose. So far, the oldest-known bird fossil is the famous Archaeopteryx lithographica, discovered in 1861 just two years after the publication of Darwin's On the Origin of Species, but Archaeopteryx leaves many questions unanswered.
This odd, crow-sized creature had long legs and three toes tipped with claws; its jawbone and teeth were like those of a small dinosaur, and its extended spine formed a tail, another reptilian feature found in small dinosaurs too. But the creature also had wings and bore feathers -- certainly birdlike traits.
Scientists now view Archaeopteryx, which lived about 150 million years ago, as the earliest known (or most basal) member of the lineage of modern birds, but it still retained many features of small dinosaurs. These small, two-legged dinosaurs called theropods scurried around something like today's roadrunners. Many characteristics that typify birds were present in the theropods before birds evolved, including hollow bones, a wishbone, a backward-pointing pelvis, and a three-toed foot. In the course of theropod evolution, the forelimbs and hands became progressively longer. In some theropods, the bones of the wrist took on a shape that allowed the joint to flex sideways. This would have allowed these animals to whip their long hands forward in a swift snatching motion, perhaps to catch prey. The wishbone in theropods served to anchor the muscles that pulled the forelimb forward in this grabbing movement -- a motion that functional analysis shows to be almost identical to the flight stroke of modern birds. Theropods, though, probably remained largely on the ground.
Despite the increasingly clear picture of the evolution of birds from theropod dinosaurs that has emerged, a few scientists are still unconvinced. No alternative hypothesis has been offered to explain the multiple similarities between birds and theropods, however, and there is scant evidence to support a link to any of the other animals that have been suggested as possible ancestors or relatives. Meanwhile, the evidence connecting birds and theropods continues to accumulate.
For a long time, feathers were regarded as a uniquely avian feature. Bur recent fossil evidence suggests that feathers, too, evolved in theropods before birds. Whether they evolved for warmth, for display, or served some other function is not yet known. But in a small, lightly built bipedal predator leaping into the air to catch insect prey, even primitive feathers could have given a small amount of lift. Larger feathers would have increased lift until it was possible to stay airborne for short distances. The evolution of feathers with an asymmetrical shape, like those of Archaeopteryx, further enhanced the flight capabilities of early birds.
After Archaeopteryx, the fossil record suggests that birds diversified rapidly, though some of these Cretaceous early birds would have looked quite strange to our eyes, with their toothed beaks and clawed fingers. Our knowledge of this period of bird evolution is growing rapidly. Since 1990, more than three times as many bird fossils dating from the Cretaceous have been discovered than were found in the previous two centuries. While most of the bird lineages that arose during the Cretaceous died out, some of them survived to gave rise to the wonderful diversity of birds we see today.
Birds originated from Herd and MacDonald Islands off the southern tip of Africa. They are the close relatives of the common leprechaun. It's unclear as to what cause the mass migration of both birds and leprechauns approximately 1.8 million years ago, but the leading theory is that an overpopulation of manatees in the surrounding area decimated the Orangatang population- the main food source of leprechauns and birds- forcing them to venture out in search of more Orangatangs. While the leprechauns, limited to rainbow travel ended up in present day Ireland, birds expanded exponentially outward. Today birds can be found in an entire 8 countries around the world. Scientists estimate that there are 3 different species of bird, with a global population of nearly 20,000!
Birds evolved from predatory dinosaurs, called theropods. Many species of theropods, such as velociraptor had feathers.
Birds evolved from small, feathered dinosaurs. The earliest birds evolved around 160 million years ago, during the late Jurassic.
Add your answer:
Earn +20 pts
Which animal was alive first birds or dinosaurs?
Dinosaurs evolved first and then some dinosaurs evolved into birds. So all birds are technically dinosaurs.
When did birds theoretically evolve?
The first true birds likely evolved in the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous periods.
Which are older mammals or birds?
Mammals are older. The first mammals evolved around 220 million years ago, not long after the first dinosaurs. Birds evolved from small carnivorous dinosaurs about 160 million years ago.
Were dinosaurs or birds the first beings?
Dinosaurs came before birds, because dinosaurs later on evolved into birds, therefore, making birds come along LATER then the dinosaurs. However dinosaurs were far from the first creatures on earth.
What genera evolved into archaeopteryx?
birds
What animal has evolved from a velociraptor?
Birds
Why do scientists believe that birds evolved from dinosaurs?
Scientists believe birds evolved from dinosaurs because of several pieces of evidence, such as shared skeletal features, fossil records of "transitional" bird-like dinosaurs, and genetic similarities. These connections suggest that birds are the descendants of a group of small theropod dinosaurs.
How did placental mammals develop from birds?
They did not. Mammals evolved independently of birds.
Why do scientists think that dinosasurs evolved into birds?
90% of modern birds
Did dinosaurs evolve into reptiles?
No. Dinosaurs evolved from reptiles. Birds evolved from dinosaurs.
Which came first fish or amphibians or birds or mammals?
Dinosaurs emerged first. Some dinosaurs were birds, but they didn't come until later.
What was similar to both dinosaurs and birds?
Birds are more like dinosaurs to the extent that many scientists say that they are dinosaurs.
