theropod

Examples of theropod in the following topics:

• Evolution of Birds

  • The second group, bipedal predators called theropods, includes the ancestors of modern birds.
  • This course of evolution is suggested by similarities between theropod fossils and birds, specifically in the structure of the hip and wrist bones, as well as the presence of the wishbone, formed by the fusing of the clavicles.

• Biodiversity Change through Geological Time

  • It was during this extinction event, about 65 million years ago, that the dinosaurs, the dominant vertebrate group for millions of years, disappeared from the planet (with the exception of a theropod clade that gave rise to birds).

• Evolution of Mammals

  • Later in the Mesozoic, after theropod dinosaurs replaced rauisuchians as the dominant carnivores, mammals spread into other ecological niches.

• Homologous Structures

  • Wings evolved independently in each lineage after diverging from ancestors with forelimbs that were not used as wings (terrestrial mammals and theropod dinosaurs, respectively).