So i have been thinking about this for a while now , When i think of evolution i think of something that came from nothing and then kept growing with time in size but when you look at the animal sizes it started huge and got smaller and smaller with time , My other question is Do you believe in the evolution theory that is suggested by scientists ? I’m not indicating or asking about religious , Its just when i look at the wild life and humans its just much much much more complicated than to be explained in our life time and so much questions to be answered, Last do you know any good movies or documentaries about these kind of subjects ?
Thank you , I hope my English was clear for you to understand .
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Questions About Dinosaurs And Evolution.?
Posted on June 8, 2013.
Evolution has not been theory for a long time. Despite the public still using that name, it has been considered scientific fact for a very long time now.
And, it isn’t about starting from nothing, and getting large. It is about a species changing over time. Larger, smaller, splitting into 2, or more separate animals, and so on.
There are several mechanisms that drive Evolution, and not all are fully understood. E.g., there is Darwin’s Natural Selection idea, often called “survival of the fittest,” where the best, and strongest in a species survive to breed more, passing on those characteristics. However, another idea has that there are Evolutionary niches, where life is remarkably stable. Sharks are a perfect example of that – they are little changed for a very, very long time. Cockroaches as well.
Size can be dependent on the environment. Beavers were once about 4 times larger than they are now, but, as their environment changed, so did they. (Side note: the natives where I live have stories about the Giant Beaver, and how it became small. While this happened 10’s of 1000’s of years ago, they know about the large beavers, and bears that existed then.) Wolves became dogs, and over time, most became smaller. They are still close enough to breed, but, they are different animals too. Same as lions, and tigers – they can still breed, but, they have adapted to their environments – the tawny lion to hide in grasslands, and the striped tigers to hide in jungles.
There are other ideas as well, although I am less familiar with them. Just to give you an idea of how accepted all this is, in 2011 alone, there were some 52,000 scientific papers published on Evolution.
1. Evolution does not state that “something came from nothing”. Evolution simply explains how the diversity of life of Earth came about. It has nothing to do with the origin of the universe (Big Bang Theory) or how life actually started (Abiogenesis) although both of these are also supported by every available item of evidence without exception.
2. Evolution does not state that living things get bigger. It simply states that living things change over time in order to adapt to a changing environment. This may mean changes in size but it also means many other things as well – and changes in size also means getting smaller.
3. Scientists do not “believe in” evolution the same way that deluded religionists “beleive in” god or small children “believe in” fairies or Santa Claus. Scientists look at the evidence and decide whether the evidence indicates whether a theory such as evolution is supported by the evidence. In the case of evolution, the evidence supporting it is overwhelming.
4. Just because you or anyone else finds Evolution complicated or difficult to understand doesn’t mean that it isn’t true.
The following questions were answered by dinosaur expert Don Lessem and paleontologist Tim Rowe.
Q: How did the first dinosaur get on Earth?
A: Dinosaurs evolved from more primitive reptiles about 230 million years ago. Among the earliest-known dinosaurs was eoraptor from Argentina, a dog-sized meat-eater, 228 million years old. (Don Lessem)
Q: Why weren’t people alive when dinosaurs lived?
A: People evolved from earlier mouse-sized mammals that were around all through dinosaur time, but didn’t get any bigger than a house cat. Only after the dinosaurs disappeared 65 million years ago did mammals get larger and more varied. Eventually, the primate mammals the ape family emerged and led to one very smart ape about one million years ago us. (Don Lessem)
Q: How did the first dinosaur come to life?
A: Dinosaurs got here by evolving through a series of changes from more primitive reptiles. Nobody can really say why any animal evolves. It’s a matter of chance and survival of the strongest. If you start life all over again, or get rid of an animal, it can never come back. So no more dinosaurs except in Jurassic Park. (Don Lessem)
Q: Are animals of today related to dinosaurs? If yes, which ones?
A: Birds are the direct descendants of meat-eating dinosaurs in most scientists’opinions. Living reptiles like crocodiles are relatives of dinosaurs, but they came from animals that developed before dinosaurs, so they are just cousins of dinosaurs. Dinosaurs aren’t birds or reptiles. They’re dinosaurs, a separate, special group. Some living animals, like reptiles, look a lot like what we imagine dinosaurs to be, but that’s just a coincidence. Reptiles all have bent legs, and dinosaurs have straighter legs. Dinosaurs walked with their legs underneath them that’s one way to tell a dinosaur is a dinosaur. (Don Lessem)
Q: There is a theory of dinosaur extinction that dinosaurs did not “die out” but evolved into reptiles and birds of today. What do you think of that one?
A: Many scientists think birds are dinosaurs. Certainly, it appears that birds are descended from meat-eating dinosaurs and the earliest birds look just the same, except for feather impressions, as small meat-eating dinosaurs. It’s a question of semantics then whether birds are living dinosaurs or their closest living relatives. What we call reptiles were around before, during, and after dinosaurs. Dinosaurs evolved from more primitive reptilian relatives but belong to their own separate group. (Don Lessem)
Q: Do you think that some of the smallest dinosaurs could have evolved into birds?
A: Little dinosaur meat-eaters were probably the ancestors of birds, but we aren’t sure which ones. (Don Lessem)
Q: Are any modern-day pets related to dinosaurs?
A: There is a lot of recent research that suggests birds are the closest living relatives of dinosaurs in fact many paleontologists are now saying that birds are living dinosaurs. So your pet parrot has a very distinguished history! I keep chickens and a turkey as pets at home, and the resemblance to extinct dinosaurs is really striking, especially when you look at their feet (the feathers hide a lot of other resemblances besides the feet). (Tim Rowe)
Q: In what ways were some dinosaurs like birds?
A: Dinosaurs were like birds in having hollow bones, but so did pterosaurs. Dinosaurs walked upright as birds do and meat-eating dinosaurs have very similar skulls to birds. Some of the smaller dinosaur meat-eaters have bodies and arms similar to birds’as well. The first bird, archaeopteryx, looks nearly identical to the small meat-eating dinosaur of the same time, compsognathus, except it has feathers. (Don Lessem)
Q: What fish did dinosaurs evolve from? How did birds evolve?
A: Fish aren’t closely related to dinosaurs, but birds are. Birds are descended from meat-eating dinosaurs. (Don Lessem)
Q: How were some dinosaurs able to evolve into warm-blooded animals?
A: Some dinosaurs may have been warm-blooded or at least partially so. The descendants of meat-eating dinosaurs are warm-blooded they’re birds. So dinosaurs were probably on the way to warm-bloodedness themselves. (Don Lessem)
Q: How are reptiles and amphibians different and related?
A: Reptiles evolved from amphibians long before dinosaurs, about 300 million years ago. Reptiles had a better breathing system than amphibians before them. Instead of a throat pump they moved their rib cage like we do, so the size of their lungs, not their mouth, determined how much air they could take in. Reptiles also had a horny layer on their scales and armor, unlike amphibians, so they could live all their lives on land. (Don Lessem)
Q: Why did some dinosaurs have long tails?
A: We don’t know why dinosaurs had long tails but it was probably to keep them from falling on their faces, since they had a lot of weight in the front of their body leaning forward over their hips. (Don Lessem)
Evolution has definitely occurred. The path of evolution has not always been from simple to complex, neither it has always been linear. You have to consider all the variables, factors, external as well as internal to arrive at some tangible conclusion.