Scientists Link T-Rex to Chicken???

Wow this is an interesting find, it seems that there has been a link made and I have no clue the science or how to explain it but an interesting quote from Angela Milner, who said

"The analysis shows that T-rex collagen makeup is almost identical to that of a modern chicken - this corroborates a huge body of evidence from the fossil record that demonstrates birds are descended from meat-eating dinosaurs,"

Who are you calling chicken? T. rex's closest living relative found on the farm

Scientists have at last uncovered the closest living relative of the mighty Tyrannosaurus rex, the most feared and famous of all the dinosaurs. For the first time, researchers have managed to sequence proteins from the long-extinct creature, leading them to the discovery that many of the molecules show a remarkable similarity to those of the humble chicken.

This sounds remarkable so if anyone knows if this is some kind of spoof please let me know so I can get this moved.


[edit on 2007/4/12 by JacKatMtn]

I kind of doubt the scope of this study.

There are plenty of birds thought to be far more primitive than chickens, including some that still have claws on their arms when they are young.

That birds are descendants of dinosaurs is pretty well established, but I seriously doubt the chicken is their closest relative.

I think that i read or heard somewhere that raptors also evolved into birds.Now I could be wrong but i swear i heard this before somewhere.Anyone else hear of this?

The article goes into the dinosaur to bird links and what is exciting is that this study was based on a new ability to extract protein samples from certain fossils and compare them to those of animals today.

I would post more quotes from the article but I don't know if it would be alright so all I can say is to visit the link and read the entire article to get the story of the study.

I apologize for not being learned enough on the subject to explain it well, but I wanted the members to see this and comment.

Am I really gonna be the first to ask if they taste like chicken?

I had always assumed though that they evolved to present day reptiles or amphibians? Don't they call Crocodiles the "living dinosaur"? I assume its because they are relatively unchanged from the Jurassic period, but why wouldn't they also have become poultry?

Here's a story from National Geographic.

The precursors to T-Rex,Tyrannosaurids, sported "proto-feathers", that probably functioned similarly to mammalian hair. As a way to preserve, and help regulate body temperature.

Some are even speculating that the juvenile T-rex may have also had featherlike structures. Though I am not sure if there is direct evidence of that quite yet.

[edit on 12-4-2007 by spacedoubt]

Thanks for that link spacedoubt!!

I didn't know this was a theory being bandied about, but I must admit I haven't followed this science closely.

So this new development helps to affirm their theory, I am waiting to see how this new way of extracting protein material from fossils will affect theories of the past and present.

yeah, i saw that on the morning news.

i only have one question,



oh and crowpruitt your right.




[edit on 15-4-2007 by roswell1]

I've actually read a few theories that state some predatory dinosaurs - the Carnosaurs, dromaeosaurs, and coelurosaurs, but not the Ceratosaurs or Coelophysoidea (including their descendants, the spinosaurs) - actually evolved from birds, and birds themselves originated in the late Triassic with the Eoraptors.

It certainly does explain a few aspects of therapod physiology that divides the one group from the other - The latter group had flexible tails, hanging arms, and long, straight necks, while the carnosaurs et al had stiffened tails, tucked forelimbs, and S-curved necks.

Take a look at therizinosaurs and maniraptors. The idea that birds evolved FROM these things is a little goofy... but the reverse isn't so terrible an idea - one needs only look at some creatures like diatryma to see the "huge hungry dino-bird" recurring in history.

Birds: Most successful vertebrate ever

they say that all dinos evolved into bird and that t-rexs closes relative today is the ostrich

Originally posted by TheWalkingFox
I've actually read a few theories that state some predatory dinosaurs - the Carnosaurs, dromaeosaurs, and coelurosaurs, but not the Ceratosaurs or Coelophysoidea (including their descendants, the spinosaurs) - actually evolved from birds, and birds themselves originated in the late Triassic with the Eoraptors.

It certainly does explain a few aspects of therapod physiology that divides the one group from the other - The latter group had flexible tails, hanging arms, and long, straight necks, while the carnosaurs et al had stiffened tails, tucked forelimbs, and S-curved necks.

Take a look at therizinosaurs and maniraptors. The idea that birds evolved FROM these things is a little goofy... but the reverse isn't so terrible an idea - one needs only look at some creatures like diatryma to see the "huge hungry dino-bird" recurring in history.

Birds: Most successful vertebrate ever

uh.... can you put that in English?

Originally posted by Anubis_4400
they say that all dinos evolved into bird and that t-rexs closes relative today is the ostrich

Who says? According to the OP "they" say it's the chicken!

Here is a link that shows a feathered dino fossil:
www.amnh.org...

Originally posted by MrAndy
I had always assumed though that they evolved to present day reptiles or amphibians? Don't they call Crocodiles the "living dinosaur"? I assume its because they are relatively unchanged from the Jurassic period, but why wouldn't they also have become poultry?

No, that would be like saying sharks are dinosaurs. Both have existed since the time of dinosaurs relatively unchanged... But were not considered dinosaurs. You have to remember (and its a common misconception) dinosaurs were not reptiles.

I like the theory that raptor type predators had the proto-feathers to keep their eggs warm. Then as they hunted and lept about into the air with their arms outstretched to pounce on prey they gradually leaped further and further, until the outstreatched arms became wings (on an evolutionary time scale). But really there is no way to prove this as fact, just sounds like a good theory to me.

Originally posted by whargoul
You have to remember (and its a common misconception) dinosaurs were not reptiles.

I'd better qualify this! (how do you like the quote myself thingy?)

The reptiles in the world today are not decended from dinosaurs. Dinosaurs were a branch of the reptile family tree, but not the same branch as the alligator or croc (or any contemporary reptiles).

Sorry for the confusion!

Originally posted by roswell1

Originally posted by TheWalkingFox
I've actually read a few theories that state some predatory dinosaurs - the Carnosaurs, dromaeosaurs, and coelurosaurs, but not the Ceratosaurs or Coelophysoidea (including their descendants, the spinosaurs) - actually evolved from birds, and birds themselves originated in the late Triassic with the Eoraptors.

It certainly does explain a few aspects of therapod physiology that divides the one group from the other - The latter group had flexible tails, hanging arms, and long, straight necks, while the carnosaurs et al had stiffened tails, tucked forelimbs, and S-curved necks.

Take a look at therizinosaurs and maniraptors. The idea that birds evolved FROM these things is a little goofy... but the reverse isn't so terrible an idea - one needs only look at some creatures like diatryma to see the "huge hungry dino-bird" recurring in history.

Birds: Most successful vertebrate ever

uh.... can you put that in English?

Sure.

Some sorts of predatory dinosaurs may have in fact evolved from birds, rather than the other way around.

Take the dromaeosaurs, the "raptors" - Notice their body structure. Their forelimbs are tucked under their chest, their necks have an S-shaped curve, and their tails held out stiff behind them. These are traits found also on the Carnosaurs (T. rex), and Coelurosaurs (Compsugnathus). They are also found on birds. Now it'd be a hard argument to say Tyrannosaurs turned into birds, along with Dromaeosaurs, etc. However, positing that these three dinosaur groups, and birds, all shared a common, and very birdlike ancestor is quite possible

The T. Rex - chicken link is new to me, but dinosaurs being related to birds isn't.

[geek]

There are plenty of birds thought to be far more primitive than chickens, including some that still have claws on their arms when they are young.

Those would be the hoatzin birds of the Amazon -- they have claws when they're young so they can scramble about in trees to escape from predators.

I like the theory that raptor type predators had the proto-feathers to keep their eggs warm. Then as they hunted and lept about into the air with their arms outstretched to pounce on prey they gradually leaped further and further, until the outstreatched arms became wings (on an evolutionary time scale). But really there is no way to prove this as fact, just sounds like a good theory to me.

Interesting. I like that theory.

[/geek]

Originally posted by TheWalkingFox

Originally posted by roswell1

Originally posted by TheWalkingFox
I've actually read a few theories that state some predatory dinosaurs - the Carnosaurs, dromaeosaurs, and coelurosaurs, but not the Ceratosaurs or Coelophysoidea (including their descendants, the spinosaurs) - actually evolved from birds, and birds themselves originated in the late Triassic with the Eoraptors.

It certainly does explain a few aspects of therapod physiology that divides the one group from the other - The latter group had flexible tails, hanging arms, and long, straight necks, while the carnosaurs et al had stiffened tails, tucked forelimbs, and S-curved necks.

Take a look at therizinosaurs and maniraptors. The idea that birds evolved FROM these things is a little goofy... but the reverse isn't so terrible an idea - one needs only look at some creatures like diatryma to see the "huge hungry dino-bird" recurring in history.

Birds: Most successful vertebrate ever

uh.... can you put that in English?

Sure.

Some sorts of predatory dinosaurs may have in fact evolved from birds, rather than the other way around.

Take the dromaeosaurs, the "raptors" - Notice their body structure. Their forelimbs are tucked under their chest, their necks have an S-shaped curve, and their tails held out stiff behind them. These are traits found also on the Carnosaurs (T. rex), and Coelurosaurs (Compsugnathus). They are also found on birds. Now it'd be a hard argument to say Tyrannosaurs turned into birds, along with Dromaeosaurs, etc. However, positing that these three dinosaur groups, and birds, all shared a common, and very birdlike ancestor is quite possible

thanks for that

Originally posted by crowpruitt
I think that i read or heard somewhere that raptors also evolved into birds.Now I could be wrong but i swear i heard this before somewhere.Anyone else hear of this?

I heard it in Jurrasic Park and I remember thinking
to myself, I knew him from Hunt for The Red
October.
"One Wing Only please Vasili"

Hoatzins have claws, they taste like chicken
and look like... chickens, but buddy, it ain't chicken.

Think what breeding T-rex could do for world hunger ?


Roswell1 asked what is the difference between this (T-Rex) and this (Momma hen with chicks) was ?

Well PLUCKING of course.

I wanna know who the dude was, brave enough to pluck that T-rex and didn't the dinasour get awful cold at night ?

Actually the closest living relative of the dinasours is a lizard like creature in New Zealand called a Tuatara closely related to the Galapogas Islands Iguana.

I think dinosaurs and birds are close enough to consider them one family.

There would be avian and non-avian dinosaurs then.

Hmm... IIRC, the tuatara (sp?) was around when the dinosaurs were, but is not related to them. They're pretty cool animals, though; they can freeze over for an entire winter and survive.