this post was submitted on 30 Jun 2024
735 points (97.4% liked)
Science Memes
11189 readers
3066 users here now
Welcome to c/science_memes @ Mander.xyz!
A place for majestic STEMLORD peacocking, as well as memes about the realities of working in a lab.
Rules
- Don't throw mud. Behave like an intellectual and remember the human.
- Keep it rooted (on topic).
- No spam.
- Infographics welcome, get schooled.
This is a science community. We use the Dawkins definition of meme.
Research Committee
Other Mander Communities
Science and Research
Biology and Life Sciences
- !abiogenesis@mander.xyz
- !animal-behavior@mander.xyz
- !anthropology@mander.xyz
- !arachnology@mander.xyz
- !balconygardening@slrpnk.net
- !biodiversity@mander.xyz
- !biology@mander.xyz
- !biophysics@mander.xyz
- !botany@mander.xyz
- !ecology@mander.xyz
- !entomology@mander.xyz
- !fermentation@mander.xyz
- !herpetology@mander.xyz
- !houseplants@mander.xyz
- !medicine@mander.xyz
- !microscopy@mander.xyz
- !mycology@mander.xyz
- !nudibranchs@mander.xyz
- !nutrition@mander.xyz
- !palaeoecology@mander.xyz
- !palaeontology@mander.xyz
- !photosynthesis@mander.xyz
- !plantid@mander.xyz
- !plants@mander.xyz
- !reptiles and amphibians@mander.xyz
Physical Sciences
- !astronomy@mander.xyz
- !chemistry@mander.xyz
- !earthscience@mander.xyz
- !geography@mander.xyz
- !geospatial@mander.xyz
- !nuclear@mander.xyz
- !physics@mander.xyz
- !quantum-computing@mander.xyz
- !spectroscopy@mander.xyz
Humanities and Social Sciences
Practical and Applied Sciences
- !exercise-and sports-science@mander.xyz
- !gardening@mander.xyz
- !self sufficiency@mander.xyz
- !soilscience@slrpnk.net
- !terrariums@mander.xyz
- !timelapse@mander.xyz
Memes
Miscellaneous
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Wait... Pterodacticals aren't dinosaurs? ๐คจ
Aren't those the flying ones?
No, dinosaurs can't fly.
Flying 'saurs are "pterosaurs"
Birds originated in the Jurassic, and could (can) fly. Some dinosaurs could fly. Pterosaurs are lizards, who also could fly.
most dinosaurs can fly, since all living dinosaurs are birds and those very famously tend to fly quite a lot.
They are the direct sister group. It's kind of a definition thing. People defined dinosaurs before pterosaurs were known so they were not included
it's not really a definition thing as such, "dinosaur" just means anything descended from a specific point on the tree of life.
Yes, dinosaurs are defined as all descents of the last common ancestor of [blank] and [blank].
I don't remember what the blanks were but I'm sure they would have included pterosaurs if they knew about them back than
no, that's not how cladistics works..
as you can see from the diagram, pterosaurs are not descended from the stem-dinosaurs, thus they cannot be dinosaurs any more than birds could be mammals.
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cladistics
I understand quite well how monophyletic clades work and I hope you understand that they are a human construct. That doesn't mean they are wrong or bad or something, but the question you are ignoring is: Who decides what the stem dinosaur is and would the decision be the same if they know about pterosaurs? Maybe but maybe not. Now that decision is made and set in stone, there is no going back but "dinosaur" and "ornithodiran" are just words that would be swopped (again, not gonna happen anymore)
Saurus but not dinosaurs I think.