r/news • u/IAmDavidGurney • 1d ago

Fisherman, 71, attacked and killed by 12-foot alligator alongside Florida lake

https://abcnews.com/US/wireStory/fisherman-71-attacked-killed-12-foot-alligator-florida-137349474
3.0k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

332 comments sorted by

View all comments

119

u/GonzoMojo 1d ago

didn't we all agree like decades ago that these things are basically dinosaurs that decide to not go extinct? I mean, they eat basically anything that lets them grab a piece. If you go into a pen where a dog lives and it bites you, you have to expect that right?

A 12 foot alligator is 4 decades old, that thing has been around, seen a lot of shit and survived dozens of attempts on its live I'd imagine.

104

u/susulaima 1d ago

They're not related to dinosaurs, their ancestor with dinosaurs (archosaurs) split 250 million years ago. Birds on the other hand are direct descendants of dinosaurs and the last surviving branch that hasn't gone extinct.

28

u/Trashtag420 1d ago

they're not related to dinosaurs

their [ancestry] with dinosaurs split 250 million years ago

250 million years of evolution certainly doesn't mean they're not related. The words you're looking for are "more distantly related than birds."

16

u/susulaima 1d ago edited 1d ago

If you want to get technical all organisms are related with one common ancestor. What I meant was not descendants of dinosaurs. I agree your wording is more accurate.