Written by: Emily Joswiak • April 27, 2021• adventure

Interesting Creatures Related to Dinosaurs

There is still so much we don’t know about the times before humans existed. Thanks to science, research, and the discovery of many fossils, we have more information. A great part of spending time as a family is learning new and exciting information together. Shared knowledge of a topic can promote togetherness, conversation, and an expansion of thinking. With your family, listen to these interesting creatures related to dinosaurs. Some may sound plausible, while others may blow your mind.

Understandable

Some animals that live in modern times seem to have a long history on this earth. Many tend to dwell in water and share many of the ferocious qualities we think of when we think of dinosaurs. Due to these likenesses, it’s not much of a shock to learn that these creatures are related to dinos.

Crocodiles

Crocodiles share physical features, such as their skin texture, sharp teeth, and claws, with beasts of the Mesozoic era. Researchers believe that both crocodiles and alligators share common ancestors with dinosaurs. Moreover, the crocs we know now were likely very similar to their early relatives.

Sharks

These deep blue sea dwellers have been around longer than almost all other animals. Today’s sharks are also descendants of very similar animals in prehistoric times. Sharks themselves have existed for over 450 million years. They’ve changed in size and appearance, but it’s still them.

Surprising

Some animals seem so harmless now that it’s difficult to picture them as sharing any relation to creatures we see in the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World movies. Get ready to have your mind blown! To recognize the likeness between these animals and dinosaurs, consider more recent findings.

Ostriches

Researchers say that birds are the direct descendants of dinosaurs. Therapods were a grouping of several dinosaur types. They had two hind legs, claws on their feet, and, quite often, hands with claws at the ends of short arms. Researchers believe that many theropods, such as raptors, were covered in feathers, making the images we have of dinosaurs in our heads vastly different from how they likely appeared in reality.

Chickens

Scientists have deemed chickens the most closely related creature to dinosaurs. Scientists have found a considerable number of similarities between the DNA of the fierce and might Tyrannosaurus rex and our modern-day, egg-laying, farm-dwelling chickens!

Fantasy

We can’t talk about dinosaurs without exploring a bit of the fantasy side of these great beasts. So much of what we’ve seen in cinema and learned about dinosaurs is so incredible that it can be hard to believe.

Dragons

Dragons have had the spotlight in an array of media. However, the connection between dinosaurs and dragons is rooted in folklore. Though researchers have yet to identify dragon remains, stories of their existence occur throughout every culture in the world’s history.

As the truth continues to elude us on whether dragons were ever real, they are certainly among the most interesting creatures related to dinosaurs. If you found out dragons had existed, which of these beasts would you still deem the most fascinating?

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