Re: Dino/bird amphibians

[Dora Smith <villandra@austin.rr.com>]

I think I did misunderstand what was meant by "amphibian dinosaur".   I had
in mind an actual amphibian - like a frog.   I think what was meant was
swimming dinosaurs.   Not dinosaurs born with gills instead of lungs.

Yes, many coelurusaurian (sp?) dinosaurs were very much like birds.  In
fact, all of them were basically built like birds.    It is just that, as
far as we know, only birds were fully flighted.  Other species were very
close to being flighted.

But there is sharp controversy about whether a number of flighted and
unflighted Cretaceous birds belonged to Aves, or were coelorusaurian (no,
I'm not heading for that dictionary) cousins.

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: Friday, June 17, 2005 1:05 AM
Subject: Re: Dino/bird amphibians


> 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?
> >
>
> >Yours,
> >Dora Smith
> >Austin, Texas
> >villandra@austin.rr.com
> >
> >
> >>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
> >>