Knowra Non-avian dinosaur Non-avian dinosaur An extinct dinosaur outside the bird lineage, encompassing diverse terrestrial animals that lived during the Mesozoic Era. Birds are the surviving dinosaur lineage.
Dinosauria : The group of reptiles comprising birds and their extinct dinosaur relatives, united by shared anatomical traits. Non-avian dinosaurs are the extinct members of Dinosauria outside the bird lineage.
Dinosaur locomotion : The ways dinosaurs moved, shaped by limb structure, posture, body size, and habitat. Trackways and skeletons show how non-avian dinosaurs walked, ran, and supported their weight.
Late Triassic : The final epoch of the Triassic Period, when dinosaurs first appeared and began diversifying. The earliest known dinosaurs emerged during this interval.
Tyrannosaurus : A genus of large-bodied predatory theropod dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous of North America. Tyrannosaurus exemplifies the giant predators among late non-avian dinosaurs.
Avialae : The theropod group containing birds and their closest extinct relatives. Its lineage distinguishes birds from dinosaurs classified as non-avian.
Dinosaur respiratory system : The respiratory anatomy and breathing mechanics of dinosaurs, inferred mainly from fossils and living relatives. Air-sac evidence in some fossils suggests distinctive breathing systems among theropods and sauropods.
Dinosaur evolution : The evolutionary diversification of dinosaurs from early archosaur relatives through the Mesozoic. It traces how non-avian dinosaurs evolved into radically different forms.
Triceratops : A genus of large, three-horned herbivorous dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous of North America. Its skull illustrates the specialized defenses and display structures of ceratopsians.
Archosaur : A reptile in the group that includes crocodilians, pterosaurs, dinosaurs, and birds. Dinosaurs belong to this broader reptile group, alongside crocodilians.
Dinosaur growth : The pattern and rate of dinosaur development, studied through growth marks in fossil bones. Bone histology reveals how quickly different non-avian dinosaurs matured.
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