Why Dinosaurs are not just big lizards, Part 2

Part 1, Part 3

So last time we talked about the obvious differences between dinosaurs and lizards in this one we will talk a little more in depth about these differences.

Stance

So we have all probably seen alligators and lizards walking if you haven't check out the videos below:



You will probably notice that they way that they are walking has their feet in a position that is not directly under their body. Now look at the way you or your dog/cat/other mammal walks you will notice that the feet of the mammals are placed directly under the body. This allows these organisms to better support their own body weight with less muscle work while at the same time extending the stride length of the animal so you increase the speed without lengthening the legs. So what does this have to do with dinosaurs? Well lets look at dinosaur's closest living relatives, the birds:



Look at where those legs are located, they are right under the body of the bird. If you want to do more just do a google image search for bird legs. Some of you might be saying, "Wait birds are very derived," or, "You are assuming evolution to be correct." The answer to both statements is yes, you will notice that all that we see of the bird leg is actually from the knee down, and yes, so lets just look at dinosaur stance itself.



So what do we notice in those two images? The first thing, and the one most important to this post is the location of the legs they are directly under the body of the dinosaurs. This is a drastic change from that of the lizards and represent a huge improvement in the way that these organisms moved and may have been one of the reasons they were able to conquer the world during the Mesozoic. You be asking why their legs are under them or how do we know this? We will talk about that next time. I can also hear the complaints now, well those are drawing/recreations they aren't proof! True so here try this:







There better?

Part 1, Part 3