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saurischian |
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saurischianAny “lizard-hipped” dinosaur species (order Saurischia), with hip bones arranged like those of modern reptiles, the pubis bone pointed forward and down. The order includes all carnivorous and some giant herbivorous dinosaurs. Saurischians evolved from small bipedal dinosaurs called thecodonts; they first appeared in the Late Triassic epoch (227–206 million years ago). The order consists of three suborders: theropods, sauropods, and staurikosaurs (suborder Staurikosauria). Staurikosaurs, known only from the incomplete remains of a few species, seem to have been medium-sized flesh-eaters similar to the theropods. See also ornithischian. How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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Because the various groups had such dissimilar anatomies, early dinosaur investigators presumed that the bird-hipped ornithischians had evolved from a different stock of reptiles than had the sauropods and theropods, which together form a group called saurischian dinosaurs, characterized by their lizard-like pelvises. |
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