Living birds had common ancestors on the theropod lineage. Oddly enough, birds are derived from the "lizard-hipped" dinosaurs and not from the "bird-hipped" ornithischian dinosaurs. The "bird-hipped" condition of a pubis pointing toward the back of the animal occurred twice independently, once in the ornithischians and once in the lineage leading to birds – an example of convergent evolution.
Related category PALEONTOLOGY
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