© irene waters 2018
The only direct descendant of the dinosaur to survive extinction were those that could fly. Birds evolved from the dinosaur group Theropods and are now thought to be the only living dinosaur descendants. When you eat a chicken you are eating a modern day dinosaur.
© irene waters 2018
It is easier to imagine this trace of the past when you look at pelicans. They have a prehistoric look about them for good reason. The first pelican is believed to have appeared 100 million years ago reaching the peak of their diversity 65 – 57 million years ago when their were around 57 species. Today there are only 5 – 8 species left. 30 million years ago the giant pelican existed. What a sight that would have been. The largest now is 1.8 metres long with a wingspan of 3 metres. They are light because their bones are full of air and this prevents them from diving to catch fish. The only one that dives is the American brown pelican which launches itself from a height of 20 metres and hits the water at a speed of 65 kpm.
© irene waters 2018
The pelican beak which is the longest of any living bird, is well known for its sac which it uses for fishing allowing it to scoop up its food, get rid of the water before swallowing its meal. A well-preserved 30 million year old fossil pelican found in the Luberon region of France shows the pelican has changed little in that time.
© irene waters 2018
This lack of change is put down to the fact that the beak has reached an evolutionary point that is optimum for either flight or eating or both and as it is a successful trait it has survived over time. Pelicans are truly a trace of the past.
In response to Paula’s Thursday Special.
Reflections and Nightmares- Irene A Waters (writer and memoirist) 
Thank you for really interesting history and wonderful photos to accompany. It’s chicken for dinner tonight and I may look at it a bit long before my first bite.
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I’m glad you enjoyed it Sharon. How did your dinosaur meal go down?
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We had salmon – stole it from a very angry pelican!
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Hahah
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Excellent photos. I have turkey in the salad and my husband cooked chicken. One is filet and the other is small cutes. No feathers to help with the imagination, but dinosaurs didn’t have feathers.
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LOL. I hope you enjoyed your dinosaur meal.
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About 10 years ago, the newspaper reported finding a “small” dinosaur fossil in our city.
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I’m always amazed when fossils are found.
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Yes, this is a big city. Who would expect to have found fossils.
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Eating chicken will not be quite the same! The feathery dinos in the top picture seem strange to me having grown up during a time when we imagined them to be lizards.
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Yes I didn’t know that there were some that did actually have feathers. I think they were towards the end of the period when dinosaurs roamed – gives a different interpretation of Big Bird.
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LOL! The creators of Big Bird were on to something!
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I’m not a big eater of the modern day dinosaurs. These are fascinating facts, Irene. Thank you so much for this bright entry! So very clever 🙂
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Thanks Paula. We don’t have the beautiful buildings that you have unfortunately.
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