https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=2600%3A4040%3A4528%3AF300%3ACC45%3AC775%3AF00D%3A51A8 2026-04-24T14:24:04Z User contributions MediaWiki 1.30.0 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1211:_Birds_and_Dinosaurs&diff=403871 2026-01-19T01:54:20Z

<p>2600:4040:4528:F300:CC45:C775:F00D:51A8: the customary conversion is inexact. ryan north is exactly 2m tall. i think he said this on twitter somewhere</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 1211<br /> | date = May 13, 2013<br /> | title = Birds and Dinosaurs<br /> | image = birds and dinosaurs.png<br /> | titletext = Sure, T. rex is closer in height to Stegosaurus than a sparrow. But that doesn't tell you much; 'Dinosaur Comics' author Ryan North is closer in height to certain dinosaurs than to the average human.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> At the time the comic was released {{w|bird}}s were commonly considered to be a separate {{w|class (biology)|class}} of {{w|tetrapods}}. However, this classification is false according to {{w|phylogenetic taxonomy}}. Taking into account that birds developed around {{w|Late Jurassic|150 million years ago}} out of small {{w|theropod}} dinosaurs, birds along with crocodiles are indeed the remaining representatives of the {{w|Archosaur|archosaur clade}}. This premise appeared also in comic [[867: Herpetology]].<br /> <br /> This relation between birds and dinosaurs is depicted in the comic in a {{w|cladogram}} which shows that ''{{w|Tyrannosaurus rex}}'' is more closely related to the common {{w|sparrow}} than to ''{{w|Stegosaurus}}''. Not only do the former share a phylogenetic branch, but ''T. rex'' also lived around 80 million years ''after'' ''Stegosaurus''. The concurrence of both species in popular culture is a widespread error. ''T. rex'' is also much more alike to modern birds than to other dinosaurs in terms of anatomy. This relationship was pointed out on the [http://www.sciencemag.org/content/340/6133/690 Science] journal the week of the comic.<br /> <br /> The comic draws the conclusion that if birds must in fact be considered modern dinosaurs, the hunting practice of birds of prey (specifically, the {{w|peregrine falcon}}) is consequently a dinosaur fight. For an inveterate dinosaur aficionado like [[Randall]], this fact must make the modern world much more attractive.<br /> <br /> The title text is a sidesweep to the webcomic ''[http://www.qwantz.com Dinosaur Comics]'' drawn by {{w|Ryan North}}, who stands 6'6.5&quot; (2&amp;nbsp;m) tall. At that page the title text of the comic [http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=2420 strip] from the same day refers to Randall and ''[[xkcd]]''.<br /> <br /> The conclusion of this comic is referenced in the title text of the last image in the [http://what-if.xkcd.com/101/ Plastic Dinosaurs] What if?<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> :By any reasonable definition, ''T. rex'' is more closely related to sparrows than to ''Stegosaurus''.<br /> :[Diagram showing that ''Stegosaurus'' came earlier than ''T. rex'', along with it showing that ''T. rex'' came closer in time to sparrows. Evaluation criteria &quot;separation by time&quot;, &quot;phylogenetic distance&quot; and &quot;physical similarity&quot; are highlighted in red.]<br /> :Birds aren't ''descended'' from dinosaurs, they ''are'' dinosaurs.<br /> :Which means that the fastest animal alive today is a small carnivorous dinosaur, ''Falco peregrinus''.<br /> :[A picture of two birds is shown, one large and one small.]<br /> :It preys mainly on other dinosaurs, which it strikes and kills in midair with its claws.<br /> :[In red:] This is a good world.<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> [[Category:Comics with color]]<br /> [[Category:Charts]]<br /> [[Category:Dinosaurs]]<br /> [[Category:Biology]]</div>

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