Study Suggests Dinosaurs Originated 10 Million Years Earlier Than Previously Thought
Recent research conducted by Yale University and Princeton University indicates that dinosaurs may have originated between 250 and 240 million years ago, which is approximately 10 million years earlier than the oldest confirmed dinosaur fossils suggest. The study, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, utilized advanced statistical techniques to analyze nine different morphological datasets. These datasets included information about the physical traits of three major dinosaur groups: theropods, sauropodomorphs, and ornithischians. The researchers employed Bayesian tip-dating analyses to reconstruct the initial diversification of dinosaurs, revealing a rapid appearance and diversification of all major lineages during the early Late Triassic period. 
