As we well know, dinosaurs were a group of animal species that inhabited the Earth during an era known as the Mesozoic. In fact, this era is popularly known as that of the dinosaurs, which began 250 million years ago and ended approximately 65 million years ago. Dinosaurs were vertebrates that, in some cases, reached gigantic size. They were very similar to reptiles, although the main characteristic of dinosaurs was that their legs were located in a vertical position under the body. Many dinosaurs were oviparous, plus they had tough, scaly skin, although some had feathers. Also, many of them developed beaks, claws, long fangs or armor mainly for protection. Finally, some dinosaurs were carnivores and others herbivores.
Although there was a great diversity of dinosaurs, the classification of the different types of dinosaurs is carried out according to the structure of their hips. From these two large classification groups, other subgroups can be deduced that group dinosaurs based on more precise and unique characteristics. However, the main classification is made from the two groups according to the type of hip they had.
The classification of dinosaur types:
1. Saurischians : dinosaurs of this type were characterized by having a hips very similar to that of other reptiles, such as lizards. His hips therefore pointed forward, so that if he was seen in profile, his pelvis was shaped like a triangle. This type of dinosaur was later divided into two lineages. On the one hand, carnivorous dinosaurs emerged that had bipedal locomotion, a large head and strong jaws, as well as greatly reduced forelimbs. The best example of this type of dinosaur is the popular tyrannosaurus rex. On the other hand, the second lineage gave birth to herbivorous dinosaurs, with quadrupedal locomotion, long neck and small head.
2. Ornithischians : this is the second large group into which the dinosaurs were divided. This type of dinosaur is also generally known as bird hip. These dinosaurs generally lived in herds and were much more numerous than those of the other large group. They are characterized by having developed elements such as horns, crests, armor and a battery of chewing teeth. All this was a form of protection, not against predators, but against other dinosaurs of the same group, which used to fight each other.
