Brain Scoop

I had a great time exploring the collections of the Burke Museum today! They’ve got a great temporary exhibit highlighting examples from each collection. So beautiful. (at Burke Museum) didyouseethisthingsaid: What truth is there to the idea that crocodiles and alligators are dinosaurs?In a taxonomic sense, there’s no truth. I think the primary source of confusion is when “dinosaur” as a common term is used to encompass any and all prehistoric lifeforms. The truth us, Crocodilians evolved separately from dinosaurs. In a taxonomic sense, there’s no truth. I think the primary source of confusion is when “dinosaur” as a common term is used to encompass any and all prehistoric lifeforms. The truth us, Crocodilians evolved separately from dinosaurs. And remember, it’s all in the hips. A dinosaur (in this case, a member of the clade Dinosauria) is only a dinosaur when it’s got the Ornithischian (edit) OR Saurischian pelvic configuration; in other words, the legs come directly under the body and do not sprawl as they do with other reptiles - like crocodiles and alligators.It’s true Crocodilians have existed for hundreds of millions of years and began evolving around the same time as the first Dinosaurs - but just because two separate lineages came to be at the same point in time, that does not mean they have any relation to one another. Image sources:UC Berkeley - graphic by Randall Irmis / Andrew Lee / Nick Pyenson.. Source-brainscoop