Similarities Between Dinosaurs & Lizards

Class

• The clearest similarity between dinosaurs and lizards is one of taxonomy. According to biological taxonomists, dinosaurs and lizards are both part of the order "reptilia," a family that today includes everything from crocodiles to birds. While dinosaurs are more closely related to birds than to lizards, they are also genetically connected to lizards. Dinosaurs and lizards share ancestry in the pennsylvanian period, the first time in history that lizards walked the earth.

Appearance

• Dinosaurs and reptiles are both vertebrate creatures possessing a spine with several appendages. Both types of creatures have a spinal column, and both have bodies, legs and tails. However, while all lizards are four legged, most dinosaurs are two legged. Being reptilian vertebrates, dinosaurs and reptiles both possess two types of bone: the dermal bone structures (plates and scales), which develop in the skin, and endoskeletal bone, which is found inside the muscles.

Diet

• Dinosaurs, like lizards, can be carnivorous, herbivorous or omnivorous. Dinosaurs and lizards share this attribute with other reptilian creatures, such as birds. Mammalian species' tend to be herbivorous or carnivorous, with only a few species' being omnivorous. Dinosaurs and lizards may be herbivorous or carnivorous, but many are capable of becoming omnivorous when hungry and desperate. This is a fairly unique attribute among the reptile class.

Reproduction

• Dinosaurs and lizards are similar in terms of reproduction. Both dinosaurs and lizards reproduce sexually, meaning that reproduction requires a male to impregnate a female. In addition, both dinosaurs and reptiles give birth by laying eggs, which hatch after being tended to for a period by the mother. Dinosaur and lizard offspring both achieve independence after a time of living by their mothers' side.