Feathered Dinosaur Older Than Archaeopteryx Discovered

[Mikey]

They probably did taste like chicken. The closest analog we have that is commonly eaten is alligator, and gator definitely tastes like chicken.

[stitch626]

Weren't dinosaurs reptiles, in which case they would by definition have a three chambered heart. Whereas a bird by definition has a four chambered heart.

I wasn't using this to determine if it is a dinosaur or some other reptile of the time, but in order for it to be a dino, its got to be a reptile first.
Unless my archeology book is completely wrong...

[Tyyr]

Weren't dinosaurs reptiles,

No, dinosaurs aren't reptiles. They don't sprawl and more than a few of them are designed for highly active life style's. We can't prove one way or another but there's a lot of evidence pointing towards at least some of them being endotherms if not most of them.

[Mikey]

Yep. Dinosaurs = reptiles is a fairly outmoded way of thinking, although a popular one in its time. The initial studies into the relationship between dinos and birds planted the first seeds of doubt in that idea.

[Lazar]

No, dinosaurs aren't reptiles. They don't sprawl and more than a few of them are designed for highly active life style's. We can't prove one way or another but there's a lot of evidence pointing towards at least some of them being endotherms if not most of them.

I'm confused; aren't the dinosaurs members of the class Reptilia?

[Tyyr]

Yes, but they were put under the classification back in the 1800's and it's becoming quite obvious that they aren't reptiles by any stretch of the imagination.

[stitch626]

So why haven't they changed that for textbooks published this year?

[Sonic Glitch]

So why haven't they changed that for textbooks published this year?

"The Bureaucratic mentality is the only constant in the universe"

[Tyyr]

Because no one's really pushed to move it out. I'm not even sure it would be moved out honestly.

[Sionnach Glic]

Tyyr's pretty much got it. Dinosaurs are not reptiles, and you certainly don't clasify them basd on the heart. Hell, the simple existance of feathered dinosaurs kills that theory. Insulation would be a death sentance for a cold blooded creature.

[Mikey]

So why haven't they changed that for textbooks published this year?

They were too busy editing out the bits that said that Pluto is a planet.

[Tyyr]

They were too busy editing out the bits that said that Pluto is a planet.

The heartless bastards.

[Sonic Glitch]

They were too busy editing out the bits that said that Pluto is a planet.

The heartless bastards.

I hear Mickey is very upset...

[Mikey]

I hear Mickey is very upset...

Laugh? I thought I'd never start...