Mr. Investi-Gator! Did you know that...? Username: Mewsings of An Angel Prize Preferences: 3, 1, 4, 2, 6, 5 Prompt: #4 What's so interesting about that?
Unlike modern-day crocodiles and the like, some previous ancestors did not evolve down the same path. Aetosaurs, rauisuchians, and sphenosuchians all shared a very different evolutionary trait: erect legs. Unlike crocs, with their sprawled out legs, each of the ancestors had legs that stood near-straight beneath their bodies, much like common mammals. This meant that they could have been very fast land travelers, not having the hindrance that the modern-day crocs have with their bellies dragging the ground.
Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2016 5:50 pm
Mr. Investi-Gator! Did you know that...? Username: Rein_Carnation Prize Preferences: 1, 7, 3, 2, 4 Prompt : 1 What's so interesting about that? From reconstructed gnomes scientists have discovered that a common ancestor from 240 million years ago links birds to the Crocodillians. This reconstructed gnome has become the important tool in linking this discovery of the "Archosaurs," a group including all dinosaurs, pterosaurs, birds, and crocodilians. So Crocodilians are actually related more to birds than other reptiles like snakes, turtles, and lizards. It has also been proven that birds have a faster evolving gnome rate whereas Crocodillians have a slower pace in Comparison.
This entry isn't quite long enough! Please repost with at least 4 sentences in your answer. Since "yes" is only a single word, it will not count as a sentence for the sake of the count.
Mr. Investi-Gator! Did you know that...? Username: Mewsings of An Angel Prize Preferences: 3, 1, 4, 2, 6, 5 Prompt: #5 What's so interesting about that? Yes! The Crurotarsi were the other important archosaur evolutionary grouping, and during the Late Triassic this group reached the height of their diversity, with various groups including the Phytosaurs, Aetosaurs, several lineages of Rauisuchia, and the first crocodilians (the Sphenosuchia) coming into being. Meanwhile, the rhynchosaurs and the Prolacertiformes were important beginning archosaur groups throughout most of the Triassic period.
Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2016 6:46 pm
Mr. Investi-Gator! Did you know that...? Username: .Tortured. .Pumpkin. Prize Preferences: 2, 7, 3, 1, 6, 5 Prompt: 1 What's so interesting about that? I thought it was going to be those weird fish that have the crocodile-like jaws and can breathe out of water, the Gar. Buuuuut, surpise! Nope. XD Real answer below!
The animals who are the closest living relatives to crocodilians are... Birds! Apparently they share a common ancestor from 240 million years ago, but birds have a more rapid evolutionary rate. This makes crocodillians more closely related to birds than other reptiles. Basically the supposed reason for birds evolving more rapidly is because their life span is shorter, thus their reproduction more quick, thus more generations in a shorter period of time, and more mutations and evolution! The more you know!
Mr. Investi-Gator! Did you know that...? Username: Calixita Prize Preferences: 1, 4, 2, 3, 7, pass (already won a familiar) Prompt: 1 What's so interesting about that? The closest living evolutionary relative to crocodilians are birds! They share a common ancestor -- that lived 240 million years ago -- whose evolutionary path split in three: the birds, the crocodilians, and the dinosaurs. This group has been classified as archosaurs. This was discovered through the study of crocodilians genomes, which was made easy due to their very slow rate of genetic evolution.
Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2016 6:54 pm
Mr. Investi-Gator! Did you know that...? Username: Mewsings of An Angel Prize Preferences: 3, 1, 4, 2, 6, 5 Prompt: #6 What's so interesting about that?
Pigments are a colorful material that can be found in both flora and fauna. Pigment coloring in birds comes from three different groups: carotenoids, melanins, and porphyrines. Carotenoids are created by plants, and the coloration is received by eating plants or by eating something that has eaten a plant. Melanins are tiny granules of color found in both the skin and feathers of birds. Dependent on the amount of concentration and location, melanins can produce colors ranging from the darkest black to reddish browns and pale yellows. Porphyrins are produced by modifying amino acids. Though the exact chemical structure of each porphyrin can be different, they all share a common trait. They fluoresce a bright red color when exposed to ultraviolet light.
Based on the latest research, scientists have been able to find and isolate eumelanosomes (black pigmentation), which is virtually identical to modern birds. Though, this research is still speculative, and few things have been found to isolate bright colorations in fossils.
Mr. Investi-Gator! Did you know that...? Username: LunaRei_SilverBlood Prize Preferences: 2 - reroll Prompt: 2 What's so interesting about that? Rauisuchians are crurorasans, and Triassic Archosaus. They lived mostly in the Triassic time period. The term Rauisuchia is thought to be a wastebin taxon (meaning they don't fit anywhere else in classification). They had been originally thought to be related to the erythrosuchids and are one of the 3 families recognized along with the Poposauridae. Two researchers named Parrish and Jull found that Rauisuchians were more closely related to Crocodilia then prestosuchids (the 3rd recognized family). Physically the Rauisuchians had an erect gait, that means that the legs were positioned under the body, rather than 'sprawling' to the side. They range in size from 13 to 20ft.They went extinct along with many others in the extinction events that led way to the Jurassic era.
Poposaurids are usually 8 to 16 feet long and are meat eaters. They resided in the southwest US. They existed in the late Triassic period and after some further study are related to crocodilian rather than dinosaurs. And rather than the previously thought Theropods that they seemed to share similarities with. One of them being that they walked in two back legs rather than all four. They first set of remains was found in Wyoming in 1904. In the 2011 study, it has been suggested that the respiration of the poposaurus is distinctive, a form of breathing called cuirassal breathing.
Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2016 7:00 pm
.Tortured. .Pumpkin.
Mr. Investi-Gator! Did you know that...? Username: .Tortured. .Pumpkin. Prize Preferences: 2, 7, 3, 1, 6, 5 Prompt: 2 What's so interesting about that? Gonna tell you about this!
Poposaurids: They're a group of larger archosaurs (which I also had to look up) who lived with dinosaurs (but weren't dinosaurs?). They're more closely related to crocodiles than they are to dinosaurs. The pictures I found look like a crocodile had a baby with a t-rex. XD They are believed to have walked on two feet, as their front limbs are smaller than their back limbs.
Rausuchians: They had big heads, long back legs, and scales. They are considered an evolutionary grade and belong to a genus called pseudosuchia which translates to "false crocodile". They were prominent during the Triassic period and died out after the "big boom" that caused the other dinos to die. :c They had an erect gait as opposed to a sprawling gait. (think t-rex standing upright vs crocodile moving around with its belly close to the ground)
Mr. Investi-Gator! Did you know that...? Username: Rein-Carnation Prize Preferences: 1, 7, 3, 2, 4 Prompt : 2 What's so interesting about that? Poposaurids:
Poposaurids are a family of large Carnivorous archosaurs that lived among dinosaurs during the late Triassic period. Scientific research & analysis has proven them to be closer relation to crocodiles. It has been noted that these creatures walked more like dinosaurs then their current "croc descendants". The first poposauroids that were discovered walking upright were toothless, beaked herbivores called Effigia.
Rausuchians:
Now Rauisuchians are a group of large Triassic archosaurs known as "Pseudosuchia". These creatures carried an erect gait with legs beneath the body rather than splay out like the modern crocodilians. Rauisuchians possibly reared upon their hind legs using their tail for balance for short periods of time. They also carried osteoderms upon their back and were found to be a slow walker. Eventually, this group went extinct in the late triassic period due to being cold-blooded not keeping with the warm-blooded fast theropods that were evolving.
Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2016 7:13 pm
Mr. Investi-Gator! Did you know that...? Username: Mewsings of An Angel Prize Preferences: 3, 1, 4, 2, 6, 5 Prompt: #7 What's so interesting about that?
There's actually been a lot of different material found in fossils, besides just bones. Collagen fibers have been found in the leg-bone material of a Tyrannosaurus Rex. There have also been instances where researchers have studied fossils found years ago using modern technology and have discovered red blood cells! This is an amazing discovery, considering it has long been common knowledge for scientists to believe that fossils never contain soft tissue materials.
Mr. Investi-Gator! Did you know that...? Username: Mewsings of An Angel Prize Preferences: 3, 1, 4, 2, 6, 5 Prompt: #8 What's so interesting about that?
By looking at cross-sections of fossils, researchers are able to note many different aspects to the different species. For example, they have found that certain species grow more quickly than others. Bone histology reveals aspects of growth that cannot be obtained by simply looking at the shape of the bone. This information includes amazing data about growth rate, metabolism, age at death, sexual maturity, skeletal maturity and how long a species took to reach adult size.
Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2016 7:43 pm
Mewsings of An Angel
Hello! This is a 2 ticket question, so needs at least 6 full sentences to receive credit.
Mr. Investi-Gator! Did you know that...? Username: Mewsings of An Angel Prize Preferences: 3, 1, 4, 2, 6, 5 Prompt: #9 What's so interesting about that?
As someone who really never studied into fossils and ancient creatures past the education of school, I found everything I've written to be new! And exciting! I thought it was amazing reading up on how researchers are finding out new ways to study into fossils, like finding out that many fossils involving early birds contained material allowing researchers to tell if they had iridescent feathers! Considering this, can you imagine if crocodilians had adapted with feathers? ....strangely, I'm imagining Argonians... -shot-
Mr. Investi-Gator! Did you know that...? Username: Sabin Duvert Prize Preferences: 1, 2, 4, 7, 3, 6, 5 Prompt: 1 What's so interesting about that? The closest living relatives to the order crocidilia is, surprisingly, birds. Moreso than even other reptiles, crocodilians and their members branched off most recently from a common ancestor to birds sharing a common ancestor around 240 million years ago. Lizards and turtles branched off much earlier than avian dinosaurs. The common ancestor, the "archosaurus" would be a group that contains all dinosaurs, peterosaurs, birds, and crocodilians.
Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2016 8:32 pm
Mr. Investi-Gator! Did you know that...? Username: Sabin Duvert Prize Preferences: 1, 2, 4, 3, 6, 5 Prompt: 2 What's so interesting about that? - Rauisuchia are Triassic era reptiles who are a part of the crocodilia evolutionary tree. Unlike modern crocodiles, they had legs that supported their bodies in a pillar-like format rather than limbs off to the side, suggesting a terrestrial rather than aquatic enviornment. They were a large quadrupedal predatory reptile that dominated until the Triassic-Jurassic extinction event. Their demise led to the rise of bipedal theropods to take over their niche.
- Poposaurids were another carnivorous archosaurs that lived during the late Triassic period. However, unlike the Rauisuchia, they were bipedal and were initially believed to be theropods dinosaurs as opposed to reptiles. Not only were they bipedal, but they also possessed cranial features that mimic the theropodss. This seems to be more of an instance of parallel evolution rather than any kind of direct relation, however.
Sabin Duvert
Winter Trash
Offline
Sabin Duvert
Winter Trash
Offline
Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2016 8:38 pm
Mr. Investi-Gator! Did you know that...? Username: Sabin Duvert Prize Preferences: 1, 2, 4, 7, 3, 6, 5 Prompt: 3 What's so interesting about that? Crocodiles and their direct relatives aren't the only physiologically similar animals: Phytosaurs filled a very similar evolutionary niche. They were massive semi-aquatic predators that lived in scummy, poop filled swamps with a long snout with sharp teeth to catch fast-moving fish. Originally, they were thought be a part of the archaosaur line, however recent studies have reclasified them as having evolved before the split between crocodiles and birds.
Convergent or parallel evolution occurs when there is biological "space" for more than one animal to evolve to fill the niche. When a body type is well suited to catch a particular type of prey or interact with the environment, more than one evolutionary line might follow the same strategy.
Reply
