With this break in between lessons, I am going to take the time to talk about my favorite group of animals that have ever existed, that’s right dinosaurs! They are the most diverse group of microorganisms that have lived, ranging from Microraptor, at a measly 16 inches, to Sauroposeidon with its head 59 feet off the ground. However, no family of dinosaur is as known for its killing power as the raptors. They have large claws and can outrun a cheetah, the newest member of this species is the largest on record, Dakotaraptor. While new evidence shows that Velociraptor is not anywhere near as close to how it is portrayed in Jurassic Park rather it was a much smaller and more feathery creature. Dakotaraptor was around 16 feet long and lived in what is now the midwestern United States. What is remarkable about this dinosaur is that despite its large size, it has true wings, which means that it was on the evolutionary pathway of flight. However, since it was too large to fly, the mystery now is what the wings were used for. I believe the wings were for attracting mates much like birds today, as well as possibly for intimidation against other large carnivores such as tyrannosaurus which lived alongside it. This dinosaur, if it were alive today would be one of the most terrifying to live alongside as it was one of the top predators of its area and despite looking like a massive turkey, would send anyone packing.
here is a link to it in comparison to a human.
That's a fairly good theory on the purpose of raptors' wings, though they may have just been a step in the evolutionary process with no real purpose. Like you said, they couldn't fly, and it's not like wings are the only thing animals have ever used to attract mates.
ReplyDelete>They are the most diverse group of microorganisms that have lived
Come on, Will. You know better than to call dinosaurs microorganisms.
We have to go back! Back to the past! You have reclaimed your title of "Dinosaur Kid", Will. This was an interesting analysis of your favorite topic; I can tell that your knowledge has come directly from the heart and certainly not some kind of Wikipedia article. I remember spending a great deal of time reading books on dinosaurs, but I was too young to actually know how to read, so the majority of my time was trying to make sense of the side-by-side dinosaur to human size comparisons. That is a pretty sweet Dakotaraptor you have there. I feel like my knowledge of these terrible lizards has proliferated. Know what that word means? I used a the-saurus!
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