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variants:
or
plural non-avian dinosaurs or nonavian dinosaurs
Definition of non-avian dinosaur
: 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
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The first known use of non-avian dinosaur was in 1988
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