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BOB HIRSHON (host):
The humble origin of dinosaurs. I’m Bob Hirshon and this is Science Update.
Recently, we got this call from listener Megan Salazar:
MEGAN SALAZER (caller):
I live in Escondido, California, and I was wondering: How did dinosaurs get on Earth?
HIRSHON:
Well, Megan, paleontologist Jerry Harris of Dixie State College in Utah says that dinos got here the same way we and all living things did—they evolved.
JERRY HARRIS (Dixie State College, Utah):
Dinosaurs evolved from reptiles that were not dinosaurs that were around earlier. And these include little tiny, maybe crow-sized things that probably looked like giant kangaroo rats—very long limbs, running around snapping up insects and trying not to get eaten by their bigger cousins.
HIRSHON:
A modest origin for creatures that would come to rule the Earth. If you have a science question, call us at 1-800-why-isit. If we use it on the air, you’ll win a Science Update mug. I’m Bob Hirshon, for AAAS, the science society.