Are crocodiles dinosaurs? | The Irish Sun

DINOSAURS lived on Earth about 66 million years ago before becoming extinct for reasons yet to be discovered.

You may be wondering if there are animals that are descended from dinosaurs such as B. Crocodiles, and here we answer your questions.

Are crocodiles dinosaurs?

Although they share a similar appearance, no, crocodiles are not dinosaurs, but they do come from the same crown group called archosaurs.

Archosaurs are reptiles like birds, crocodiles, pterosaurs, and dinosaurs.

The only other archosaurs besides crocodiles that have survived over the years are birds.

Crocodiles are the evolution of reptiles that grew into dinosaurs.

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They share some characteristics such as being cold-blooded and a large body with thick rubbery skin.

Both have sharp teeth and can lay eggs.

How old do crocodiles get?

Crocodiles are around 85 million years old and date from the Triassic period.

They belong to a group of animals called crocodile morphs that lived with dinosaurs about 205 million years ago.

Which animals are descended from dinosaurs?

Crocodiles aren’t the only animals descended from dinosaurs.

cassowaries, ostriches and chickens

The third largest bird species, cassowaries are also descendants of dinosaurs and are found in northern Australia, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.

Aside from its large structure and huge claw-like feet, one of the features that make it resemble a dinosaur is its leathery crest on its head.

This may come as a surprise, but chickens are related to dinosaurs.

It has been revealed how a T-Rex shares basic molecular structures common to chickens.

The same goes for ostriches.

These three animals share a molecule called protein collagen, which takes form in different animals, but the one that most closely resembles that found in the T. rex is that of chickens and ostriches.

The discovery was made in 2003 by Jack Horner and Mary Schweitzer when they attempted to extract a fossilized T-Rex femur and had to break the bone in half to do so.

Tuataras and lizards

Tuatara is another animal from a reptilian group called Rhynchocephalia that descended from dinosaurs.

They live off the coast of New Zealand and eat beetles, spiders and snails and occasionally small birds that they can chew up with their saw-like teeth.

It lives in very low temperatures and can have a lifespan of up to 100 years.

The other reptiles are lizards that evolved millions of years ago and share some features with dinosaurs.

Sharks and Sea Turtles

Sea creatures are believed to have evolved over 450 million years ago during the Silurian period.

They have survived every major extinction and are one of the most diverse species out there.

On the other hand, sea turtles — which have adapted to both soil and seawater — share a common ancestral history with dinosaurs.

After the cataclysm that wiped out the dinosaurs, the tortoises began to evolve differently, and this is how the hard shells eventually emerged.