Saurischia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Saurischian dinosaurs Temporal range: Upper Triassic – Upper Cretaceous (non-avian) |
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| Saurischian pelvic structure (left side) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Sauropsida |
| Superorder: | Dinosauria |
| Order: | Saurischia Seeley, 1887 |
Saurischia is one of the two orders of dinosaurs. The name comes from the Greek sauros meaning 'lizard' and ischion meaning 'hip joint'. In 1888, Harry Seeley classified dinosaurs into two main orders. Their hip structure was how they were separated into these orders. Saurischians ('lizard-hipped') and the ornithischians ('bird-hipped') have differences in the ways bones in the hip are put together. All carnivorous dinosaurs (the theropods) are saurischians.
