Did you know the word "dinosaur," coined by scientist Sir Richard Owen, literally means "terrible reptile"?

It's true! And in fact, dinosaurs and reptiles have a lot more in common than you may realize. Their hundreds-of-millions-years-old relationship is the subject of LSC's special limited-run program, "Reptiles: Discovering Dinosaur Relatives." Experience it every day at 10:30 am in LSC's Eat and Be Eaten gallery.

Here are some fast facts about dinosaurs and reptiles:

• Snakes and dinosaurs lived side-by-side. The earliest known fossil of a snake is from the Cretaceous period 90 million years ago. But it wasn't until the Cenozoic period that some grew to massive sizes, like the 33-foot-long Gigantophis and the 50-foot-long Titanoboa. Some paleontologists believe that snakes evolved from the mosasaurs, a group of marine ancient reptiles, but other evidence suggests they came from monitor-like lizards called varanids.

• The hips don't lie! One big difference between dinosaurs and reptiles are the way their hips are positioned. Reptile hips are splayed away from their bodies, while dinosaur hips allow their legs to be positioned directly under their bodies. This anatomic advantage could support more weight, allowing dinosaurs to grow to gigantic sizes. Differences in dinosaur hips are also used to split them into their two major groups: Saurischians and Ornithischians.
  

• All modern-day birds are dinosaurs. The group Aves, which includes all birds, is a branch of the Saurischian dinosaurs. Their closest relatives are Therapods, the group that boasts some iconic species such as velociraptors and tyrannosaurs. Non-avian dinosaurs shared some similarities with birds (or avian dinosaurs), including feathers. With an estimated 10,000 different species on the planet, birds are by far the most successful and abundant group of dinosaurs!

Join us every day through Labor Day for more dinosaur activities like this one during our "Dino Days of Summer" celebration. Learn more.

Guests viewing a fossil replica of the ancient turtle Trionyx

Guests taking photos of our juvenile Albino Ball Python, with an African Rock Python skin on the table