In evolutionary taxonomy, reptiles are gathered together under the class Reptilia (/rɛpˈtɪliə/rep-TIL-ee-ə), which corresponds to common usage. Modern cladistic taxonomyregards that group as paraphyletic, since genetic and paleontological evidence has determined that crocodilians are more closely related to birds (class Aves), members of Dinosauria, than to other living reptiles, and thus birds are nested among reptiles from a phylogenetic perspective. Many cladistic systems therefore redefine Reptilia as a clade (monophyletic group) including birds, though the precise definition of this clade varies between authors.
Birbs & Dinos
Submitted 2 days ago by fossilesque@mander.xyz to science_memes@mander.xyz
https://mander.xyz/pictrs/image/1682c17d-fa3e-42a9-a7df-e514c7cfe3c2.jpeg
Comments
logicbomb@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Hawke@lemmy.world 2 days ago
I kinda know what some of those words mean.
Can I get a picture?
TheTechnician27@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Any particular words you don’t know? Probably the most likely ones are para- and monophyletic. For a taxon (scientific grouping) to be valid, it needs to be monophyletic, meaning it contains the most recent common ancestor of the group’s other members and all known descendants of that common ancestor. Paraphyletic, by contrast, means not all the descendants are in there. For example, imagine if the mammals just randomly excluded the bears – that would be paraphyletic, because the bears also share a common ancestor with the other mammals.
hperrin@lemmy.ca 2 days ago
Birds are reptiles in the same sense that people are fish.
Enkrod@feddit.org 1 day ago
Fish is not a valid cladistic term. Birds are reptiles in the same way that people are vertebrates would be about equivalent and correct.
Klear@quokk.au 2 days ago
IAmNorRealTakeYourMeds@lemmy.world 1 day ago
usually, in biology we use monophyletic groupings, like all descendants of rodents will always be rodents.
however, those terms “lizard/fish” are not monophyletic, because otherwise all vertebrates would be fish. those are paraphyletic (group includes some descendants of a common ancestors).
there are already polyphyletic, where we have descendants of multiple sources, ie, Herbivores would be polyphyletic.
menas@lemmy.wtf 2 days ago
Transitivity Rex
tagoth@lemmy.world 2 days ago
This meme had strong Clint’s repiles vibes until it was etymologically wrong in the third row
dreadbeef@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 days ago
humans are also reptiles!
IAmNorRealTakeYourMeds@lemmy.world 1 day ago
and fish
DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 1 day ago
And worms
LSNLDN@slrpnk.net 2 days ago
This is why I love science memes - daily new information presented in an enjoyable format that I know I can one hundred percent trust because science.
huf@hexbear.net 2 days ago
birds are fish
SleepyPie@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Do birds have more brain myelination than reptiles? How do the compare to mammals?
Endmaker@ani.social 2 days ago
All birds are dinosaurs.