3 ms·
Yeah, but not the other way around. But there’s semantic ambiguity with the term “avian” – I used it to mean “capable of flight” but it can also mean “member of
by Sharlin 5y ago
Yeah, but not the other way around. But there’s semantic ambiguity with the term “avian” – I used it to mean “capable of flight” but it can also mean “member of the clade Aves”. The dinos that survived were not flying at that time , and not all survivors were in Aves; flight evolved in Aves only after K–Pg and other dinos that survived went extinct later.
(I edited my original comment to be more precise)
- phonypc 5y agoThat does not jibe with my reading. Which is that there were certainly flightless birds that survived K-Pg (Palaeognathae, ostrich ancestors) and the dominant flying dinosaurs (Enantiornithes) died off, but Neognathae survived and was flight-capable.
- SAI_Peregrinus 5y agoPenguins, ostriches, and emus are definitely birds, definitely avian, and definitely not capable of flight (under their own power).