GEOL 1210:

Classification, Biological
Evolution & Dinosaur
Origins
Instructor: Andrew MacRae
Room S412
Andrew.MacRae@smu.ca
Modified for Fall 2020 - look in blue-text notes for
additional information
ENOUGH ABOUT THEORY!
Time for some examples

- we will go up the "tree" to show

how dinosaurs fit onto the
branches - starting with ancient
vertebrates -- fish
 modern groups extinct fossil groups are
& s ed
e d s h t h n
even closer to the

n f i an f i n branch with tetrapods

f- i n g c e-
u n l a b
ay l e o
l sh TETRAPODA
r sh c o
if fi
extinct

Simplified cladogram
of vertebrates
showing fish and
tetrapods (4-limbed
vertebrates
ray-finned fish

fan-like fins - the most familiar

type of fish, but quite far removed
from tetrapods
- other modern fish are closer
(see next slides)
 lungfish

- as name suggests, can

breathe air
- forms a cocoon in mud as
lakes/rivers dry up -
unusual fins for breathes air for months
pushing through until rainy season
vegetation
lungfish
 coelacanth
Images from the Smithsonian Institution
http://www.mnh.si.edu/highlight/coelacanth/

- rare - almost
extinct - found only
in Indian Ocean
- lives in reef caves

- though lungfish
and coelacanths
are closest living
fish relatives to
tetrapods, extinct
fossil forms are lobe-like fins with
closer... bony fin base
 extinct fossil groups are
& s ed
e d s h t h n
even closer to the

n f i an f i n branch with tetrapods

f- i n g c e-
u n l a b
ay l e o
l sh TETRAPODA
r sh c o
if fi
extinct
 Eusthenopteron
Devonian Period “lobe-fin” fish
example of a close-to-tetrapod lobe-fin fish from Canada

lobe fins with bones that are

very tetrapod-like

From Miguasha on the Gaspé Peninsula, Québec

From: Lindsay (1994)

 Comparison of Eusthenopteron &
Acanthostega
extinct lobe-finned fish
Eusthenopteron

Acanthostega extinct tetrapod

paddle-like legs with

large number of
fingers - still aquatic
 Ichthyostega
Late Devonian early tetrapod

From: Lindsay (1994)

 Comparison of Eusthenopteron &
Acanthostega limbs
tetrapod fish - lobe fin
Acanthostega Eusthenopteron
pes

manus pes manus

f
h f
u h
t fi fi t
r u r

from proximal to distal: similar 1 bone (humerus)

followed by 2 bones (radius + ulna) - gross structure is
h = humerus, r = radius, u = ulna still present in your own arm but found here in a fish!
f = femur, t = tibia, fi = fibula - this is an old structure inherited in all tetrapods,
including us
 Acanthostega
Late Devonian early tetrapod
an aquatic "lurking" predator

teeth - a carnivore
- lurked in water, holding
position with legs
- lunged at prey

From: Lindsay (1994)

 extinct lobe-
coelacanths

finned fish
lungfish &

tetrapods
earliest
phylogenetic tree =
cladogram+timing
- earliest tetrapods are in
older fish
Late Devonian
 look at each of these
ke
groups within Tetrapoda
l li
-
n s a s u r s
i a m s l
a sa
i b am le m o
h i

s
p m p t am din

rd
m r e m

bi
a

zooming in on Tetrapoda
part of tree
is
h
amniotes
gf
y- d lun
ra nne
fi sh & coe
l a
s
n
ca TETRAPODA
= amniotic egg
fi th

TETRAPODA
 amphibians

amphibians - frogs,
salamanders, etc.
- require standing water
or wet conditions to
reproduce and lay eggs
- permeable skin
a lizard
- scaly skin
- an example of Amniota
(several other groups)
- able to lay eggs in dry
conditions
 birds

bird (a turkey)
- another amniote group
 Cynognathus
an Early Triassic “mammal-like” reptile
(synapsid)

synapsid - extinct
mammal-like reptile
- another amniote group
- mammals themselves
are also amniotes
From: Lindsay (1994)
synapsids may even have had hair, but it is uncertain when this was first acquired

Early Triassic cynodont

(“mammal-like” reptile / synapsid)

From: Lindsay (1994)

amniotic egg buffers the
surrounding
environment, making it
resistant to dry
conditions
- allowed amniotes to
spread to environments
amphibians could not
- a competitive
evolutionary advantage
(see next slide)

From: Lucas (2004)

amniotic egg (already discussed)
• membrane called the “amnion”
surrounds embryo
• mineral or soft shell on outside
• protects embryo and insulates it from
environment
• allows respiration (permeable) & water
conservation
• can be laid on dry land
 other terrestrial adaptations
of amniotes (skeletal features)
• stronger hip & shoulder girdle
• stronger limbs
• stiffer/more muscular spine

– all are adaptations to better mobility on

land
 early reptile / amniote

amphibian
skeletal comparison
between amphibians &
early amniotes show
transition to more
effective land living

From: Lucas (2004)

 ke
l li
-
n s a s u r s
i a m s l
a sa
i b am le m o
h i

s
p m p t am din

rd
m r e m

bi
a

Where do "reptiles" fit in?

reptiles =
- "reptiles" is not a clade paraphyletic
(monophyletic group)
- Amniota, defined by
synapomorphy shared with amniotes
all groups (amniotic egg +
other features) is preferred
- it's like it takes only some
of the branches from that
branch point TETRAPODA
- "reptiles" is paraphyletic
 “reptiles”
• Reptilia does not include all descendants:
– i.e. birds & mammals excluded
• a paraphyletic group = NOT a clade
• Amniota = monophyletic clade
– all have amniotic egg (synapomorphy)
• reptiles = amniotes - (birds + mammals)
• As long as you understand this distinction,
both terms can be used, but they refer to
different groupings
• nevertheless, Amniota generally preferred
 earliest amniotes -- Carboniferous
Period ~280 million years ago
e.g., Hylonomus from Joggins, Nova
Scotia

- Hylonomus - the
oldest known amniote
is from here!
- Joggins, NS
- Carboniferous in age
 earliest
tetrapods

earliest
amniotes

dinosaurs
than
dinosaurs
- much older
 Paleothyris - early amniote
1cm

- slightly younger
Carboniferous, from
near Sydney, NS
- partially-articulated
skeleton
 Paleothyris - early amniote
Late Carboniferous -- near Sydney, Cape Breton, NS

1cm

- sketch

Carroll, R.L., 1969. A Middle Pennsylvanian captorhinomorph, and the interrelationships of primitive reptiles.
Journal of Paleontology, v.43, no.1, p.151-170.
 Paleothyris - early amniote
Late Carboniferous -- near Sydney, Cape Breton, NS

note: no temporal fenestrae

1cm - reconstruction - Hylonomus looks very similar to this

- about the size of a small lizard, but ... important difference:
no temporal fenestrae
Carroll, R.L., 1969. A Middle Pennsylvanian captorhinomorph, and the interrelationships of primitive reptiles.
Journal of Paleontology, v.43, no.1, p.151-170.
earliest amniotes -- Late Carboniferous Period
~280 million years ago
e.g., Hylonomus from Joggins, Nova Scotia

- reconstruction by artist Douglas Henderson

- teeth and coprolites indicate it was an insect-eater
 groups of “reptiles”
(Amniota)
• divided by openings in skull (fenestra)
behind eyes (i.e. temporal fenestrae)
• space for muscle attachment for jaws
• four groups:
– anapsids - no opening
– euryapsid - 1 opening, more dorsal
– synapsid - 1 opening, more ventral
– diapsid - 2 openings
 - no temporal fenestrae - 1 temporal fenestrae
on each side of skull

anapsid euryapsid

- 1 temporal - 2 temporal
fenestrae on fenestrae on
each side of each side of
skull synapsid skull diapsid
- you do not need to distinguish the bones of the skull (squamosal +
postorbital), or distinguish euryapsid and synapsid anatomy, only know
that they have 1 temporal fenestra on each side ofFrom:
the skull
Lucas (2004)
 Velociraptor - a diapsid

temporal fenestrae

eye

- dinosaurs are 1cm

diapsids
 groups of “reptiles”
• all modern reptiles except turtles
(lizards, snakes, crocodiles): diapsids
• turtles: anapsids - most modern
reptiles are diapsids
too (except turtles)

• dinosaurs: diapsids - Hylonomus is an

anapsid - it looks like
a "lizard" but
• earliest amniotes: anapsids technically isn't

• other groups: euryapsids & synapsids

 non-diapsid amniotes
• plesiosaurs (euryapsids)
– long-necked marine reptiles with fins
• ichthyosaurs (euryapsids)
– fish-shaped marine reptiles
• mammal-like reptiles (synapsids)
– some characters of mammals, eventually led to
mammals (which are also synapsids)
• pelycosaurs (synapsids)
– e.g., Dimetrodon and Bathygnathus
- there are a bunch of large, reptile-like, extinct creatures from
the time of the dinosaurs that are not diapsids or dinosaurs -
often appear in books along with dinosaurs
 plesiosaur (euryapsid)
A marine reptile of the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods

- long-necked, flippers, ate fish, marine

NOT A DINOSAUR
From: Lindsay (1994)
 ichthyosaurs (euryapsids)
Another marine reptile of the Jurassic Period

NOT A DINOSAUR
- flipper-like limbs, fluked tail, but tail flukes vertical rather than horizontal (side-
to-side motion like a fish rather than up-down like a whale)
ichthyosaurs (euryaspids)

NOT A DINOSAUR
Painting by Karen Carr in Ryosuke Motani, Scientific American, December 2000 issue.
mammal-like reptiles (synapsids)
(e.g., cynodonts)
Permian-Triassic Periods

Should be obvious: NOT A DINOSAUR From: Lindsay (1994)

Procolophon

- example synapsid
"mammal-like reptile" from
South Africa

NOT A
DINOSAUR
From: Lindsay (1994)
Dimetrodon - pelycosaurs
Permian Period
Known from PEI as Bathygnathus
Land dwelling, but NOT A
DINOSAUR
- "sail back" reptiles
- note sprawling posture
- sail used for display or
thermal control (like a
radiator/solar heat collector)
- Permian - older than
dinosaurs

Painting by John Sibbick

 Diapsids (with two temporal
fenestrae on each side)
• lepidosaurs
– modern lizards & snakes -- sprawling posture
• crocodiles
– partially upright posture
• pterosaurs - diapsids - getting closer to
dinosaurs
– “bat like” finger-fliers
• thecodonts
– messy, paraphyletic “stem group”
– leg posture becomes very dinosaur-like
• dinosauromorphs – VERY close to dinosaurs
• dinosaurs
– fully upright leg posture
 pterosaurs dinosaurs
Archosauria
crocodiles

thecodonts
lepidosaurs - dinosaurs are a type of
(lizards & archosaur
snakes) - note that crocodiles
are the closest
Other LIVING relative to
dinosaurs other than
reptiles
birds

Diapsida = extinct
 upright sprawling

upright versus sprawling leg

- archosaurs evolve from sprawling types of leg
posture to the upright posture typical of

and hip
- some posture
dinosaurs
archosaurs have a "semi-
upright" posture that is transitional

some archosaurs lizards and most other reptiles

(including dinosaurs)
From: Lucas (2004)
sprawling leg posture
- Ozzie the lizard rotates her legs horizontally
and curves her back side-to-side to augment
her steps
- makes sense for horizontal leg motion
- this is NOT like a dinosaur
 pterosaurs dinosaurs
Archosauria
crocodiles

thecodonts
lepidosaurs
(lizards &
snakes)

Other
reptiles

Diapsida = extinct
Archosaurs - distinguishing
features
• fenestra in front of orbit (eye)
• fenestra in mandible
• laterally compressed (rather than
conical) teeth (some exceptions)
• no teeth on the palate - in archosaurs, teeth only along the edges
- palate is the roof of the mouth

– compare: many lizards do have teeth on

palate
• semi-upright or upright limb posture
NOT DINOSAURS! (but getting slightly
closer)
From: Lucas (2004)
 phytosaur
(Triassic-Early Jurassic Periods)

phytosaur
thecodonts

- not dinosaurs, but getting close

- crocodile-like extinct archosaur

Painting by Douglas Henderson

 - local example from around Bay
of Fundy in Nova Scotia
- tusk-like tooth

Protosuchus - Early
Jurassic from Wassons Bluff, NS

- like a semi-upright crocodile-like

creature
Archosaurs

- modern archosaur - crocodiles

and their relatives

Modern crocodile
Pterosauria - flying diaspid reptiles /
archosaurs
Triassic to Cretaceous, but NOT A DINOSAUR
- not birds, not bats, not dinosaurs --
flying "reptiles" that do it another way
- fly on a stiff membrane hung from 1
elongated finger (digit IV)

NOT A DINOSAUR - NOT A BIRD EITHER

 pterosaurs - Rhamphorhynchus -
Late Jurassic, Solnhofen, Germany

- not very big - body not much bigger

than your hand
- but some pterosaurs were huge
(metres wingspan)

preserved
wing
membrane

NOT A DINOSAUR - NOT A BIRD EITHER

From: Lindsay (1994)
pterosaurs - Rhamphorhynchus
elongated 4th digit
wing membrane with preserved
stiffening fibres

NOT A DINOSAUR - NOT A BIRD EITHER

From: Lindsay (1994)

pterosaur

Rhamphorhynchus
reconstruction

Painting by John Sibbick

 other pterosaur
From: Lindsay (1994)

skulls

Pteranodon

NOT A DINOSAUR - NOT A BIRD EITHER

by David Hone
Quetzalcoatlus - 10m (!) wingspan

NOT A DINOSAUR - NOT A BIRD EITHER

thecodonts -- Triassic Period

thecodonts -- a paraphyletic grouping of “semi-

upright” archosaurs
quadrupedal to facultatively bipedal
NOT A DINOSAUR
From: Lucas (2004)
Some thecodonts
were bipedal thecodonts

"semi-upright" leg posture

- NOTE: “semi-upright” is not that it is a biped - it is the lateral sprawl of
the legs
- in this case the legs are almost vertical beneath the body
- I would not ask you to distinguish a thecodont picture from a dinosaur
picture because it would be too difficult - they get to be VERY similar

NOT A DINOSAUR -- BUT GETTING CLOSER

From: Lindsay (1994)
 Dinosauria evolutionary
innovations

• Soooooo, if thecodonts are

"close"...
• and dinosauromorphs are even
closer ...
• what exactly makes a dinosaur
a dinosaur?
 Dinosauria evolutionary
innovations
• main innovation:
– advanced mesotarsal ankle (AM ankle)
– astragulus much larger than calcaneum
– lower foot swings front-back (like ours)
rather than swinging laterally (e.g., as in
lizards)
– enabled efficient upright posture/walking
Ozzie is NOT A DINOSAUR (obviously)
 pivot

Leg motion

Most of leg motion in

horizontal plane
 The first dinosaurs
• First dinosaurs:
– approx. Late Triassic Period
– some debate over where to draw the line!
• as you would expect from biological evolution:
they intergrade with non-dinosaur groups
– derived from certain Middle Triassic
dinosaur-like thecodonts &
dinosauromorphs (e.g., Lagosuchus)?
- the difficulty drawing a line between dinosaurs and their closest non-dinosaur relatives is evidence
of the transitional nature of this evolutionary change
- it is an arbitrary division in a series of small changes - like trying to divide shades of grey
- we will treat Lagosuchus as not a dinosaur, but some people include it as a dinosaur and define
dinosaurs slightly differently
 Lagosuchus
M. Triassic thecodont

pivot

Most of leg motion in

vertical plane
Leg motion

NOT A DINOSAUR -- BUT GETTING

VERY CLOSE - so close it is debated
From: Lucas (2004)
 Finally: Dinosaurs
pivot Most of leg motion in
vertical plane

Leg motion

Advanced mesotarsal ankle

If you remember nothing else about what makes a dinosaur a dinosaur, remember:
1) upright leg posture with legs swinging vertically below body, 2) AM ankle that makes it
possible

From: Lucas (2004)

 Late Triassic early
dinosaurs

- a bunch of the earliest dinosaurs

i.e. first
dinosaurs
were bipeds

From:
Lucas
(2004)
dinosaurs then diversified
into many body types
From: Sereno, P. 1999.
The Evolution of
Dinosaurs. Science,
v.284, p.2137-2147 (25
June, 1999).
- from earliest, bipedal,
carnivorous dinosaurs -
many other groups evolved

1m
 The dinosaur pelvis

saurischian ornithischian

From: Lucas (2004)

 Dinosaur classification: 5
main groups
• Saurischia - “lizard-hipped”
– 1. Theropoda - (e.g., T. rex)
• also: Aves (birds)
– 2. Sauropodomorpha - (e.g., Apatosaurus)
• Prosauropoda
• Sauropoda
• Ornithischia - “bird-hipped”
– 3. Thyreophora - (e.g., ankylosaurs, Stegosaurus)
– 4. Marginocephalia - (e.g., Triceratops)
– 5. Ornithopoda - (e.g., hadrosaurs -- “duckbill”)
– Fabrosauridae - less familiar basal group (we will skip)
 Sereno
(1999)

3
2

5
DINOSAURIA
1

details for
reference only!

- you do not
need to
4
know all this
- reference
only!

- biggest division
on the hips - - birds
colour coded
Aves
ORNITHISCHIA SAURISCHIA
 Simplified dinosaur classification
- you have to know all of these

a
ph

lia
or

ha
a
om

da
or

ep
a

ph
od

po
od

c
no
eo
p

o
op
ro

ith
gi
s

yr
ur
ve

he

ar

rn
Th
Sa
A

M
T

O
3.
1.

2.

4.

5.
Saurischia Ornithischia

Dinosauria
 1. Clade Theropoda
- examples of each of the 5
main groups

- next slide
sets will
look at each
of these
groups

Compsognathus from Late Jurassic,

Solnhofen, Germany
1. Clade Theropoda

Tyrannosaurus rex
2. Clade Sauropodomorpha

Painting by Mark Hallet

5. Clade Ornithopoda

Edmontosaurus

From: Johnson & Stuckey (1995)

5. Clade Ornithopoda

Parasaurolophus

From: Lindsay (1993)

3. Clade Thyreophora

Edmontonia

Bakker in Czerkas and Olson (1987)

3. Clade Thyreophora
Painting by Mark Hallett in Czerkas and Olson (1987)

Stegosaurus
 4. Clade Marginocephalia

Painting by Gregory Paul in Czerkas and Olson (1987)

Clade Aves
(technically part of Theropoda)

From: Psihoyos
(1994)