https://www.livescience.com/animals/birds/are-birds-reptiles What do you think? Are we getting closer to accepting the genetic evidence as grounds for reclassification?

My hot take as a non-scientist is that traditional taxonomy is much more practical to the average person than modern “cladistic” taxonomy. The push towards prioritizing molecular data and theoretical evolutionary relationships over observable characteristics makes taxonomy much more confusing to the…

[image] vbjanos: If birds are reptiles (Sauropsid) then we are reptiles, too (Theropsid) No, under no circumstances in any sort of phylogeny would mammals be considered reptiles. Therapsids were synapsids, and had many of the same features as some reptiles, but they were not reptiles. If you …

I see reptile as a form, like crab. Synapsid reptiles gone extinct and some Sauropsid reptiles are extant. This does not mean that birds are reptiles. I do agree with your taxonomic reasoning.

[image] vbjanos: This does not mean that birds are reptiles. I think it does because birds have not changed exponentially. As far as I know, most significant anatomical differences (like feathers and being endothermic) between birds and non-avian reptiles evolved before birds diverged.

If you call the warm blooded, feathered, flying or flightless dinosaurs reptiles, all what’s left is to agree to disagree,

Why not? In the traditional sense, some of the primary defining traits of reptiles are being cold blooded, having scales, and breathing with lungs/not possessing gills. Crocodiles have all of these traits, while birds do not (they are warm blooded and have feathers and no scales)

Birds have scales on their legs and feet. Trivial point, but I make it only partly because I am so pedantic. The other reason is that I’ve seen the young-earth creationist argument “birds can’t be descended from reptiles/dinosaurs – have you ever seen a bird with both feathers and scales?” I real…

I guess you are right about scales on birds feet, had never really thought of that as “scales” but I guess they could qualify as such. Not trying to start a debate, but even if you do not agree with creationism, dismissing it as being based on stupidity or ignorance is not accurate. For example, the…

This is part of the misunderstanding, no offense. Taxonomy began mostly with Carl Linnaeus as a way to classify according to physical attributes, before the theory of evolution. Now taxonomy is understood as classifying evolutionary lineages according to relationships between the lineages. Therefore…

Are birds really reptiles?

Nature Talk

man4nature February 15, 2025, 4:53pm 42

But by that reasoning then crocodiles can’t be reptiles either…

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Are birds really reptiles?

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