nera cited by Richard Owen when he

recognized the Dinosauria.[7] Both

definitions result in the same set of
animals being defined as dinosaurs:
"Dinosauria
= Ornithischia + Saurischia",
encompassing ankylosaurians (armor
ed herbivorous
quadrupeds), stegosaurians (plated
herbivorous
quadrupeds), ceratopsians (herbivoro
us quadrupeds with horns and
frills), ornithopods (bipedal or
quadrupedal herbivores including
"duck-bills"), theropods (mostly
bipedal carnivores and birds),
and sauropodomorphs (mostly large
herbivorous quadrupeds with long
necks and tails).[8]
Birds are now recognized as being
the sole surviving lineage of theropod
dinosaurs. In traditional taxonomy,
birds were considered a
separate class that had evolved from
dinosaurs, a distinct superorder.
However, a majority of contemporary
paleontologists concerned with
dinosaurs reject the traditional style
of classification in favor
of phylogenetic taxonomy; this
approach requires that, for a group to
be natural, all descendants of
members of the group must be
included in the group as well. Birds
are thus considered to be dinosaurs
and dinosaurs are, therefore, not
extinct.[9] Birds are classified as
term is derived from Ancient
Greek δεινός (deinos),
meaning 'terrible, potent or
fearfully great',
and σαῦρος (sauros),
meaning 'lizard or reptile'.[1]
[3]
 Though the taxonomic
name has often been
interpreted as a reference to
dinosaurs' teeth, claws, and
other fearsome
characteristics, Owen
intended it merely to evoke
their size and majesty.[4]
Other prehistoric animals,
including pterosaurs, mosas
aurs, ichthyosaurs, plesiosau
rs, and Dimetrodon, while
often popularly conceived of
as dinosaurs, are not
taxonomically classified as
dinosaurs.[5] Pterosaurs are
distantly related to
dinosaurs, being members of
the clade Ornithodira. The
other groups mentioned are,
like dinosaurs and
pterosaurs, members
of Sauropsida (the reptile
and bird clade),
except Dimetrodon (which is
a synapsid).