>>8264842If it helps you to conceptualize it in those terms then yes, but I suggest looking at a phylogenetic tree of archosaurs. I dont have one saved sorry but archosaurs are all descendants of a specialized type of reptile that split and further specialized away from the 'typical' reptile way. Crocs and croc-like forms even convergently evolved bipedalism (rauisuchia), went marine (teleosaurs), and were even the world's first sauropod killers (Fasolacosuchus)
In the triassic, all these archosaurs competed until the dinosaurs usurped control (unclear why. Perhaps due to different thermoregulatory strategies) but crocs still remained diverse even after the KT extinction with some terrestrial running crocs living all the way to the Pleistocene (caveman days) while pterosaurs went entirely extinct with no modern relatives and the dinosaurs were left with a small bundle of maniraptoran, highly specialized forms that went on to develop flight, lose it, develop it again, lose it, and develop it again (Palaeognathe evolution)
it also doesnt help that all we have today are these super specialized forms of archosaur that are not representative of the more basal, primitive species that died out long ago
>>8264915Never met a black person who liked dinosaurs or extinct animals. Not sure why but they do like other animals but it just tends to be things that we can see today. same thing with most people in general, they dont really feel the impulse to imagine these dead things cuz "whats the point, its not in front of me"
