Buzz
When Jurassic Park, directed by Steven Spielberg, hit theaters in 1993, it became an instant hit. In its opening weekend, the film grossed over $47 million in the United States and Canada, quickly covering its $60 million budget.
Had the scientists behind the dinosaur cloning experiment been working with a smaller budget, they might have considered birds as the modern-day relatives of dinosaurs. In fact, to portray the mighty T. Rex, they could have used one of its closest relatives—the chicken. It may not have been as thrilling, but it would have been accurate.
Although we often think dinosaurs disappeared after a catastrophic event 66 million years ago, this isn't true for all of them. Dinosaurs are categorized into two groups: avian and non-avian. Some avian dinosaurs survived and evolved into birds, while the non-avian ones became extinct.
Dinosaurs first appeared between 243 and 233 million years ago during the Triassic period. They ruled the Earth for millions of years until an asteroid hit the Yucatán Peninsula. The carnivorous dinosaurs, like the T. Rex, were part of the Theropod subgroup. These creatures shared traits with modern chickens, such as hollow bones and three toes on each foot.
The term 'dinosaur' can be misleading because it encompasses a vast array of creatures. When we hear the word 'dinosaur,' we often picture the fierce T. Rex or the gentle plant-eating Brachiosaurus. However, not all dinosaurs fit that image. Let’s dive into ten reasons why chickens can actually be considered dinosaurs.
10. The Tyrant Chicken Ruler
Montana, a state rich with dinosaur fossils, was the site of an incredible discovery in 2003. Dr. Jack Horner, the inspiration for Dr. Grant in Jurassic Park, unearthed a T. Rex femur bone. It was a remarkable find, but too large to fit inside Horner's helicopter. Taking a practical approach, he split the femur in two and transported it to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.
At the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, paleontologist Dr. Mary H. Schweitzer began analyzing the bone. To her surprise, she discovered soft tissue inside. Although the DNA had long degraded, Dr. Schweitzer was able to test the proteins within the tissue. Her findings revealed that the Tyrannosaurus Rex was more closely related to ostriches and chickens than any living reptile.
9. The Bone Connection
As mentioned in the introduction, dinosaurs are categorized into two main groups – avian and non-avian. Dr. John M. Rensenberger from the University of Washington and Dr. Mahito Watabe from the Hayashibara Museum of Natural Sciences in Japan conducted significant research that strongly supported this classification.
Their study focused on the bone structure of modern mammals and birds. They observed that in mammals, including humans, the nutrient-carrying tubes within the bones run parallel to each other, resembling train tracks. However, bird bones exhibited no such tube pattern.
Turning their research to dinosaur fossils, they identified two distinct patterns. Some dinosaurs, specifically the carnivorous Theropods, shared the same bone structure pattern as modern birds like chickens. Meanwhile, others, those that became extinct, had a structure resembling that of modern mammals.
Fun Fact: The T. Rex had a wishbone, but you'd need assistance to break it.
8. The Egg Connection
As far as current knowledge goes, dinosaurs, like modern chickens and birds, laid eggs. While the fossil record isn't complete, scientists are fairly confident that all dinosaurs engaged in egg-laying. Focusing on the T. Rex as an example of a chicken's ancestor, it's important to note that no T. Rex nest has been discovered so far. However, nests of other Theropods have been found. If the T. Rex followed a similar reproductive pattern, which is highly probable, it likely laid around twenty eggs.
Most of the T. Rex hatchlings wouldn't have survived their first year. But those that did grow would have gained approximately 1,700 pounds (771 kilograms) annually until they reached adulthood at around 20 years old and a weight of about 9 tons. A newly hatched T. Rex would have been roughly the size of a modern turkey.
7. The Feather Connection
While we don't see flocks of chickens flying across the sky during their winter migrations, chickens are capable of flight, though only for short distances and not very high. They typically avoid flying unless absolutely necessary.
Feathers are often associated with flight, but the ability to fly isn't exclusive to feathered animals. While feathers help birds with flying, their initial evolution was for different purposes. The first functions of feathers were insulation, communication (such as a peacock's mating display), and serving as a waterproofing agent.
Many avian dinosaurs sported feathers, and it seems that several non-avian species did as well. A key example often cited to demonstrate the link between dinosaurs and birds is the Archaeopteryx, a bird-like dinosaur genus. These creatures lived during the late Jurassic period, around 150 million years ago, and were roughly the size of a magpie.
A modern chicken would likely recognize them as birds too.
6. The Feet Connection
Referring back to the movie Jurassic Park, one of the iconic creatures was the Velociraptor. Standing nearly 7 feet (2.1 meters) tall, they were portrayed as formidable predators. However, in reality, Velociraptors were much smaller, closer in size to a chicken than an ostrich.
Their resemblance to chickens is also evident when examining their feet.
Dinosaurs typically had three-toed feet, which were strikingly similar to those of modern birds. Fossilized footprints suggest that their movement was also similar to that of birds. In fact, when early paleontologists discovered dinosaur tracks, they often mistook them for the footprints of birds.
5. The Parenting Connection
Many bird species take great care of their young, and hens are no exception. A mother hen will teach her chicks how to forage for food and water, shield them from threats, and keep them warm.
Fossil evidence indicates that some dinosaurs may have exhibited similar parenting behaviors. This makes perfect sense, as hatchlings are incredibly vulnerable. Even a baby T. Rex would have required care and protection until it was capable of fending for itself, learning about the world, and relying on its parents for safety.
Some paleontologists speculate that adolescent T. Rex might have gone through a phase where it hunted differently from adult T. Rex. Not yet fully grown, it would have been faster and more agile than its parents, likely hunting different creatures. Ah, the teenage years!
Much like teenagers today, young T. Rex probably stayed close to the rest of the family, although we can't be certain if he was shy about being seen with them in public.
4. The Color Connection
We often imagine dinosaurs as being dull and grey, somewhat like elephants. However, feathered dinosaurs could have been just as vibrant as modern birds. This is supported by the discovery of melanosomes in fossilized feathers. These microscopic structures process and store melanin, which determines an animal's color.
By examining the arrangement of melanosomes in terms of size and density, scientists can recreate the exact color, or even combination of colors, that a dinosaur might have had.
Though we have limited samples to study, there is enough evidence to suggest that feathered dinosaurs could have been as stunning as a Brahma chicken. The reasons behind such bold colors likely include mating rituals, communication, and potentially even camouflage.
3. Tooth or Beak?
The saying 'rarer than a hen's teeth' points to the fact that chickens don’t have teeth. This not only eliminates the need for dental visits but also aids in flight, although chickens don’t really make much use of this ability.
While many of our chicken's early ancestors did possess teeth, a beak proved to be more practical. Some Theropod dinosaurs also evolved beak-like structures over time.
A fascinating example of this shift from teeth to beaks comes from China. A team discovered a dinosaur named Limusaurus, which lived during the late Jurassic period around 160 million years ago. As a young Limusaurus, it had teeth, but as it matured, it lost them, and its jaw transformed into a beak. This must have been a curious and likely painful transformation for the adolescent dinosaur.
2. The Wing Connection
A chicken’s wings evolved from short forearms that were once used by their ancestors to capture small prey. These animals initially jumped into the air to grab things overhead. Chickens serve as a good example of an early stage in this process, as they typically flutter upwards rather than taking flight in the way other birds do.
If you closely examine a chicken's wing, you'll notice it's essentially a collection of fused fingers folded against the arm bone—similar to its dinosaur relative, the Velociraptor.
1. Air Sacs
If you've ever held a chicken, you might have noticed it's surprisingly light. This is due to the presence of air sacs extending from their respiratory system, which makes their breathing more efficient, particularly when they need to exert themselves, and also reduces their body weight.
Interestingly, chickens and other birds didn’t evolve this air sac system; they inherited it from their dinosaur ancestors. While some dinosaurs were quite small, others grew to incredible sizes. For example, the Argentinosaurus reached at least 98 feet (30 meters) in length and weighed a staggering 72 tons.
Some dinosaurs were able to reach astounding sizes thanks to air sacs that helped make their bodies lighter and more efficient than they would have been otherwise.
