This post, originally written on March 4, 2014, contained some incorrect information derived from a Reddit post. This is an amended update.
The photo above was posted in a thread at the CHIL EagleCAM (Channel Islands Live! Eagle CAM Discussion Forum) in 2011. Further information, and access to a companion video at the link.
See also this image comparing different eagles' talons.
Wow. Those are some claws.
ReplyDeletexkcd argues that birds are not descended from dinosaurs, they are dinosaurs. I don't know myself, but what an awesome idea.
Wayne's right. Birds are dinosaurs the same way we're mammals. Just because something looks a little different from the rest doesn't mean they stop belonging to the group. Arbitrary cutoff points are just that- arbitrary.
ReplyDeletePlus, when you go back and look at the fossils, most of the things we associate with birds showed up before birds evolved. If you consider Archeopteryx to be the first bird, the only thing separating birds from other dinosaurs (to my knowledge, at least) is that their first toe points backwards instead of being on the side of the foot.
Source: I'm getting a Ph.D. in vertebrate paleontology
amazing. I go over to Guntersville Dam to watch bald eagles. Very impresssive birds. I think I saw a harpy in a zoo once. Elegant birds.
ReplyDeleteI would argue that Birds are NOT dinosaurs. Dinosaurs are large, land dwelling animals, whereas Birds are smallish flying animals. Therefore they are not the same.
ReplyDeleteNot all non-avian dinosaurs are large and not all birds are small or flying. By your argument, Compsagnathus and Velociraptor are not dinosaurs, while ostriches and Argentavis are not birds.
DeleteDinosauria is defined as the most recent common ancestor of Megalosaurus and Iguanadon and all its descendants. By definition, Dinosauria includes birds. It's a fact and not subject to opinion.
These are NOT a harpy eagle's talons! This is a photo that is from the Institute of Wildlife Studies of a bald eagle's talons and the hand in the photo belongs to Dr. Peter Sharpe, biologist for IWS.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, here is a link to the original BALD EAGLE photo. http://z7.invisionfree.com/CHIL_EagleCAM/index.php?showtopic=6246
ReplyDeleteWow - nice link. I'll update and modify the post tomorrow. Thanks, Karen.
DeleteTaxonomy is a dicey venture even with the obvious differences between one group of animals and another as grounds for categorization. Maybe Birds and Dinosaurs share a common ancestor.Suppose Dinosaurs were neither reptilian nor avian or could even share charactaristics of both. Where are the clear divisions? And why is it so important to categorize?
ReplyDelete