Trying to clarify the evolution of dinosaurs

2002/04/30 Elhuyar Zientzia

• Paleontologia
• Arkeologia

A group of the University of Bristol has elaborated the most complete evolutionary tree of dinosaurs that has been achieved to date. Since the first bones of the dinosaurs were discovered to date, more than 1,000 species of dinosaurs have been identified, but the evolutionary relationship between them is still unresolved.

Since 1980, 150 evolutionary trees have been presented, always with groups of smaller species. Now, the team of the University of Bristol has managed to unite all the small trees and relate 277 species of dinosaurs in a single evolutionary supertree.

According to scientists, the tree is not completely finished, but it is the most accurate and complete tree that has been published so far. They consider that this supertree can be a good starting point to study the evolution of dinosaurs.