Dinosaurs are long extinct but their role in understanding
life on Earth in the 21st century is vital, says a dinosaur researcher at the University
of Alberta.
“Humans have been around for about 200,000 years; dinosaurs
ruled for Earth for 160 million years,” says U of A paleontologist Scott
Persons. “From dinosaurs we’ve learned about colour vision in some of today’s
animals, and the ancient animals are linked to the evolution of other life we take
for granted, like birds and flowering plants.”