non-avian dinosaur

noun

variants or nonavian dinosaur
plural non-avian dinosaurs or nonavian dinosaurs
: any dinosaur that is not a bird
These new data show that certain non-avian dinosaurs and early birds shed their skin in ways very similar to that of modern birds and mammals.Hanneke Meijer
Following a mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous period some 65 million years ago, an event that drove non-avian dinosaurs extinct, the size and diversity of mammals exploded over a 15-million-year period, researchers say.Pete Spotts
Whereas the last of the nonavian dinosaurs certainly perished 64.5 million years ago, many other animals survived …James Gurney
compare avian dinosaur

Word History

First Known Use

1988, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of non-avian dinosaur was in 1988

Dictionary Entries Near non-avian dinosaur

Cite this Entry

“Non-avian dinosaur.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/non-avian%20dinosaur. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

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