Breakfast for a descendant of dinosaurs

Most paleontologists believe that birds evolved from theropods, predatory dinosaurs in the Jurassic period about 150-200 million years ago (and can be considered the only clade (a group of organisms that have a common ancestor) of dinosaurs that survived the Cretaceous disaster about 65.5 million years ago). The most ancient such find is considered to be the fossilized remains of Archaeopteryx, an animal that lived 155-150 million years ago and had features of both modern birds and reptiles.

Another view is that birds are descended from tecodonts, with protoavis or longisquama, who lived during the Triassic period, being considered as the ancestor of birds. Continue reading →