Re: Dino/bird amphibians

[Harri Hirvelä <harri.hirvela@dlc.fi>]

On 17.6.2005 7:15 Dora Smith kirjoitti:<br>

>Amphibian dinosaur?
>
>Have you any reason to expect there to be one?
>
>Because the way I understand it, reptiles had been around for some time
>before the basal archosaur, which evolved into crocodiles, pterosaurs, and
>dinosaurs.    So you wouldn't find amphibian dinosaurs - or do I understand
>your question correctly?
>  
>
I think that the number of various dinosaur species before their mass
extinction obviously was comparable to that of the birds today. Ok, the
birds evolved amongst the lizard hip dinosaurs, but even then there must
have been lots of different species, and there was certainly as much
ecological niches as there are today. Was there perhaps a dinosaur that
resembled say... a duck or a goose? Not perhaps capable of flying, but
swimming, eating plants from bottom of the shallow beaches, having
feathers/down for isolation? Or was this "invented" first time when the
birds emerged out of 'saurs?

Harri


>Yours,
>Dora Smith
>Austin, Texas
>villandra@austin.rr.com
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Harri Hirvelä" <harri.hirvela@dlc.fi>
>To: "Dinosaur Mailing List" <dinosaur@usc.edu>
>Sent: Thursday, June 16, 2005 12:58 PM
>Subject: Dino/bird amphibians
>
>
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>>Hi.
>>
>>Thinking about the birds and their feathery dinosaur forefathers, have
>>any one ever found or suspected to find, an amphibian dinosaur that
>>would have been living in the same ecological niche like the amphibian
>>birds of today? If so, which fossil? If not, why not?
>>
>>Best rgds,
>>Harri Hirvelä
>>
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