Ms. Lawrance's bio class
9/18/12
Are birds really dinosaurs?
Many scholars believe that birds are the ancestors of avian dinosaurs, such as theropods. according to a recent paper I read “using proper terminology birds are avian dinosaurs.” Many other scientists are largely against this theory stating a large fossil gap between such species, and a lack of relevant data. all of this can neither be proven nor disproven, like the big bang so it is a very controversial topic. I’Il give you the facts so you may make your own educated opinion.
Birds have many similar body parts and bones as their ancestors the dinosaurs, both are actually reptiles due to the scales on their feet. along with the fact that some dinosaurs may have had feathers. The Archaeopteryx commonly known as the london specimen shows a fossil that seems to be a bridge between dinosaurs and birds.
shows of evolution from the dinosaur to the bird today. Are the london specimen found in germany showing a mix of the two species, and all of the same body parts such as the same pelvis, same wrists bone structure, their s shaped necks, and their scales on their feet. What these all show is that being smaller was a favorable trait perhaps in the ice age when food was scarce, and the growing in of feathers kept the birds better protected to the weather. In the case of the london specimen the fossil shows a bone structure of that of the modern bird having hollow bones this seems to be favorable in this case most likely allowing faster running or flight even from predators. Which in both cases allowed both to create more offspring becoming dominant .
Birds have many same bone and organ structures as reptiles showing that there must have some common ancestors. with so much controversy on the topic we may never truly know if modern day birds were once dinosaurs. The amount of data on both sides are huge.The question I leave you with is are birds actually dinosaurs?
Mark, I really liked reading your essay on whether birds evolved from dinosaurs. First off I liked how you gave so much data but still explained each thing that you said. Like me you focused on the similarities in their bone structure, but unlike me you did not take one side of the argument and gave the reader the option to choose. One suggestion I have is that you could have talked more about how they evolved and also capitalize the beginnings of your sentences.
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