Due to a revolution in our understanding of the tree of life, birds are dinosaurs, while dimetrodons are not.

If you liked this week’s video, we think you might also like:

• After her great video on Dimetrodon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tdVPiyVDsQ , The Brain Scoop’s Emily Graslie started a blog devoted to the dinosaur confusion in modern toys: http://isnotadinosaur.tumblr.com/

• A new Nature paper suggesting our evolutionary history of dinosaurs might be very wrong http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v543/n7646/full/nature21700.html

LEARN MORE

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To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords:

• Systema Naturae: A 1735 book by Carl Linnaeus that outlined his hierarchical classification of animals.
• Plagiuri: an early,now disused, biological subclassification of fish used by Linnaeus that also included dolphins and whales.
• Anthropomorpha: a defunct taxon established by Linnaeus for genera Homo (humans), Simia (monkeys and apes in general) and Bradypus (sloths).
• Cladogram: A branching diagram showing the evolutionary relationship between species.
• Dimetrodon: An extinct carnivorous synapsid related to early mammals.
• Plesiosaur: An extinct marine reptile with a long neck related to modern snakes.

Species featured in this video:

• Brown-throated sloth (Bradypus variegatus)
• Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus)
• Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)
• Flathead Grey Mullet (Mugil cephalus)

CREDITS

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Script Writer: David Goldenberg Script Editor: Emily Elert Video Illustrator: Ever Salazar Video Director: Kate Yoshida Video Narrator: Kate Yoshida With Contributions From: Henry Reich, Alex Reich, Peter Reich Music by: Nathaniel Schroeder

MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info

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REFERENCES

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Angielczyk, K. (2009). Dimetrodon is not a Dinosaur: Using Tree Thinking to Understand the Ancient Relatives of Mammals and their Evolution. Evolution: Education and Outreach 2:257–271. Retrieved from: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12052-009-0117-4

Romero, A. (2012). When Whales Became Mammals: The Scientific Journey of Cetaceans From Fish to Mammals in the History of Science. New Approaches to the Study of Marine Mammals. Chapter 1. Retrieved from: http://www.intechopen.com/books/new-approaches-to-the-study-of-marine-mammals

Switek, B. (2010). Why a Pterosaur is Not a Dinosaur. Smithsonian. Retrieved from: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/why-a-pterosaur-is-not-a-dinosaur-87082921/