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Motion Picture Association of America

2012-03-19T22:26:24Z

Conservatives:

Motion Picture Association of America From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Mpaa)
Jump to: navigation, search "MPAA" redirects here. For the television show, see My Parents Are Aliens.
Motion Picture Association of America

Type Film ratings, lobbying, anti-piracy
Headquarters Washington, D.C.
United States
Membership Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Paramount Pictures
20th Century Fox
Universal Studios
Warner Bros.
Chairman and CEO Chris Dodd
Website mpaa.org

The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) is an American trade association that represents the six big Hollywood studios. Founded in 1922 as the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA), it advances the business interests of its members and administers the MPAA film rating system. Former Democrat Senator Chris Dodd is the current Chairman.

As part of its campaign to curb copyright infringement, the MPAA fights against sharing copyrighted works via peer-to-peer file-sharing networks. The MPAA's anti-piracy campaign has gained much publicity and criticism.

Contents [hide]
1 History
2 Film rating system
3 Members
4 Anti-piracy efforts
4.1 Home recording
4.2 Publicity campaigns
4.3 Legal actions
4.3.1 The Pirate Bay
5 Controversies and criticisms
5.1 Disputed figures
5.2 Rating system
5.3 Copyright issues
5.3.1 Fight against online piracy
5.3.2 Allegations of copyright infringement by the MPAA
5.4 Monopoly
5.5 In other media
6 See also
7 References
8 External links

[edit] HistoryIn 1922, the "Big Three" motion picture studios; Famous Players-Lasky, Metro-Goldwyn and First National founded the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America,[1] headed by former U.S. Postmaster General Will H. Hays.[2] In May 1925 Independent Producers Association, together with Motion Picture Theater Owners Of America, accused the "Big Three" for acting as a trust and denounced Hays as their "mouthpiece".[3] In October they filled claims to the Federal Trade Commission, providing a 280-page report detailing "Big Three's" tactics.[4] The "Big three" made a few concessions to quell the critics[5] but the monopolistic studio system was eventually established and not brought down until 1948: United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc..

The group adopted the Motion Picture Production Code, popularly known as the "Hays Code" in 1930. The Code spelled out what was acceptable and what was unacceptable content for motion pictures produced for a public audience in the United States. Enforcement of Hays Code began in 1934 and continued until 1968, when it was replaced by the MPAA film rating system. The office enforcing the code was known as the Hays Office and later the Breen Office after its first administrator, Joseph Breen.

In 1945, Hays was succeeded by former U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Eric Johnston.[6] It was during Johnston's tenure that the name of the organization was changed to "The Motion Picture Association of America". Johnston inherited the stringent censorship responsibilities associated with the Hays Code, but added to his mission the promotion of American films, which were gaining in popularity overseas in the post-World War II era. Following Johnston's death in 1963, the MPAA's top post remained unfilled for three years, while studio executives searched for a successor.

Jack Valenti was the president of Motion Picture Association of America for 38 yearsAlongside the progress of civil rights, women's rights and labor movements, a new kind of American film was emerging—frank and uninhibited. Amid society's expanding freedoms, the movie industry's restrictive regime of self-censorship became increasingly outdated. In May 1966, Jack Valenti, former Special Assistant to President Lyndon B. Johnson, was named MPAA President. That same year, sweeping revisions were made to the Hays Code to reflect changing social mores. In 1968, Valenti founded the voluntary film rating system easing restraints on filmmakers' creative and artistic freedoms, while fulfilling its core purpose of informing parents about the content of films so they can determine which movies are appropriate for their children.

In 2004, after serving as MPAA president for 38 years, Valenti retired and was replaced by former Kansas Congressman and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman. Glickman led the association during a period of significant industry transformation, retiring from the position in the Spring of 2010. While the advent of the digital era created new opportunities for delivering movies to consumers, it also gave rise to a potential threat to the industry—online movie piracy.[7] On March 1, 2011, former senator Chris Dodd was chosen to be the new head of MPAA.[8]

[edit] Film rating systemMain article: Motion Picture Association of America film rating system
The MPAA administers a motion picture rating system used in the United States to rate films' thematic and content suitability for certain audiences. MPAA ratings carry no force of local, state, or federal law and the rating system is voluntary, applying only to films submitted for rating. Films may be exhibited without ratings, though many theaters refuse to exhibit non-rated films. After screening films, the selected viewers arrive at one of five ratings. Theater owners agree to enforce corporate film ratings as determined by the MPAA, which in turn facilitates their access to new film releases.

The primary MPAA ratings are G (General Audiences), PG (Parental Guidance Suggested/Some material might not be suitable for children), PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned/Some material may be inappropriate for children under the age of 13), R (Restricted/Under 17 not admitted without parent or adult guardian), and NC-17 (No One 17 and Under Admitted).

MPAA formerly used GP for PG, which originally stood for "General Audiences, Parental Guidance Suggested. The M rating was the original name of GP/PG and signified a film with mature themes. X was the original name of R and NC-17 and started out as no people under 18, but later became 17.

[edit] MembersMPAA members include the six big Hollywood studios:[9]

Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group (The Walt Disney Company);
Sony Pictures Entertainment (Sony);
Paramount Pictures (Viacom);
20th Century Fox (News Corporation);
Universal Studios (NBCUniversal)
Warner Bros. (Time Warner).
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) was an MPAA member until 2005, shortly after Sony Pictures Entertainment's failed attempt to buy that studio. Other, smaller studios and distribution companies that are not members of the MPAA avail themselves of the association's rating and title registration services.

[edit] Anti-piracy efforts[edit] Home recordingIn the early 1980s, the Association opposed the videocassette recorder (VCR) on copyright grounds. In a 1982 congressional hearing, Valenti decried the "savagery and the ravages of this machine" and compared its effect on the film industry and the American public to the Boston Strangler.[10]

[edit] Publicity campaignsThe MPAA has promoted a variety of publicity campaigns designed to increase public awareness about piracy, including Who Makes Movies?; You can click, but you can't hide; and You Wouldn't Steal a Car, a 2004 advertisement appearing before program content on many DVDs.[11]

The MPAA and its British counterpart, the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT), funded the training of Lucky and Flo, a pair of Labrador Retrievers to detect polycarbonates used in the manufacturing of DVDs.[12][13]

[edit] Legal actionsThe MPAA has instituted legal actions against a number of peer-to-peer file-sharing sites (or BitTorrent trackers) used to upload and download copyrighted material like movies. Widely publicised examples include Razorback2 and The Pirate Bay.[14]

In February 2006, the MPAA released the following statement:

“ "Today’s lawsuits are part of MPAA’s international campaign against online piracy which has experienced some significant victories as of late. Last week the server facilitating one of the largest Torrent sites in the Netherlands, Dikkedonder, was shut down and on Monday, Belgian and Swiss authorities shut down Razorback2 -- the number one eDonkey server in the world which facilitated the illegal file swapping by approximately 1.3 million simultaneous users. The MPAA’s strategy focuses on all levels of Internet piracy to cut off the major suppliers of illegal files and at the same time curtail facilitation of illegal file swapping by peer-to-peer networks. Approximately 75 Torrent and eDonkey sites have been shut down in the last year as a result of these efforts."[14] ”

[edit] The Pirate BayMain article: The Pirate Bay raid
Responding to allegations of copyright violations, Swedish police raided The Pirate Bay, a BitTorrent tracker based in Sweden, on May 31, 2006. Some 65 police officers participated in the raid, shutting down the site and confiscating its servers, as well as all other servers hosted by Pirate Bay's ISP, PRQ Inet. Three people—Gottfrid Svartholm, Mikael Viborg, and Fredrik Neij—were held by the police for questioning.[15] Three days later, Pirate Bay was fully functional again.

The raid became controversial in Sweden when the Swedish public broadcast network, Sveriges Television, cited unnamed sources claiming that the raid was prompted by political pressure from the United States. The Swedish government allegedly was threatened with WTO trade sanctions unless action was taken against Pirate Bay.[16]

The Swedish government denied these allegations. However, a letter titled "Re: The Pirate Bay" from the MPAA to Swedish State Secretary Dan Eliasson, dated two months before the raid, hinted at trade reprisals. The letter stated, "it is certainly not in Sweden's best interests to earn a reputation as a place where utter lawlessness is tolerated." The letter went on to urge Eliasson to "exercise your influence to urge law enforcement officers in Sweden to take much needed action against The Pirate Bay."

In an MPAA press release, which has since been taken down, dated May 31, 2006, entitled "Swedish Authorities Sink Pirate Bay," Glickman states:

“ The actions today taken in Sweden serve as a reminder to pirates all over the world that there are no safe harbors for Internet copyright thieves.[17] ”

In both the 2007 documentary Good Copy Bad Copy and the film Steal This Film II,[18] Glickman spoke about the 2006 raid on The Pirate Bay and conceded that piracy will never be stopped. He emphasized, however, that the MPAA will try to make it as difficult and tedious as possible.[19]

[edit] Controversies and criticisms[edit] Disputed figuresOn January 22, 2008, the MPAA admitted publishing incorrect figures in a study in which it claimed 44% of film industry revenue losses in America due to piracy were occurring at colleges.[20] The study had been produced by the MPAA to put pressure on universities to crack down on illegal file-sharing and to lobby for legislation before the House of Representatives that would force them to do so.[21] The MPAA's revised figure reduced the claimed loss of revenue to 15%.

[edit] Rating systemMain article: Motion Picture Association of America film rating system
[edit] Copyright issues[edit] Fight against online piracy
MPAA Chairman Chris DoddThe rise of the Internet has further emphasized the MPAA’s role in controlling content, notwithstanding that some users may access content they otherwise could not, such as NC-17 movies not shown in theaters. Although the MPAA has won several victories, like with Razorback2 and through a series of successful lawsuits against public torrent websites, online piracy is still growing steadily with more and more participants.[citation needed]

Arguably, the effect MPAA raids have had on overall online pirating traffic is limited. For example, the day Razorback2 (a major server on the Edonkey2000 network) was shut down, Edonkey2000 network traffic remained constant.[22] The MPAA, however, claims to have had a very successful history shutting down networks of pirated material and torrent sites and alleges that during 2006, for example, 75 were shut down.[23]

In 2011, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) was introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives and its counterpart, PIPA to the Senate. After Wikipedia, Google and other major technology websites staged an online protest, many people contacted their representatives and the bill was taken out of consideration. Days later, MPAA chairman Chris Dodd threatened that campaign contributions to politicians that failed to support the legislation would be cut off.[24]

See also: Trade group efforts against file sharing
[edit] Allegations of copyright infringement by the MPAAIn 2007, English software developer Patrick Robin alleged that the MPAA illegally used his blogging platform, Forest Blog, which is distributed without cost under a linkware license, whereby users must link back to his site. To remove these links, one must secure a license, but Patrick Robin claimed the MPAA removed them without purchasing a license. The MPAA responded that it was only testing the blogging platform and that the blog was "never advertised to the public in any way."[25] On November 23, 2007, Matthew Garrett notified the MPAA that it was in violation of the GNU General Public License (GPL) for distributing a software toolkit, based on the Xubuntu operating system and designed to help universities detect instances of potentially illegal file-sharing on school networks. Garrett alleged that the MPAA violated the GPL by distributing a derived work without making source code available. On December 1, 2007, Garrett notified the Internet service provider for the MPAA that, in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, he was requesting them to disable the offending distribution web site. The MPAA subsequently changed its site so the toolkit was no longer offered for distribution.[26]

[edit] MonopolyBecause MPAA members are the motion picture industry's most powerful studios, in turn owned by some of the world's largest media corporations, critics of the association often raise allegations of monopoly.[27][28] They also cite the MPAA's support for closed standards that hinder competition. Other critics, like filmmaker Kirby Dick, have suggested that films released by major studios (members of the MPAA) are given more deference in terms of ratings than films released by independents.[29]

[edit] In other mediaThis Film Is Not Yet Rated is an independent documentary film about the Motion Picture Association of America's rating system and its effect on American culture, directed by Kirby Dick and produced by Eddie Schmidt. The film discusses disparities in ratings and feedback: between Hollywood and independent films, between homosexual and heterosexual sexual situations, between male and female sexual depictions, and between violence and sexual content.[30][31]

[edit] See also Film portal
United States portal
Australian Classification Board
British Board of Film Classification
Anti-copyright
DeCSS: decryption program for DVD video discs using Content Scramble System
Entertainment Software Rating Board
National Association of Theatre Owners
Operation Red Card
Pre-Code Hollywood
Recording Industry Association of America
Center for Copyright Information
[edit] References1.^ "The Production Code of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America, Inc.—1930–1934". enotes.com. http://www.enotes.com/1930-arts-american-decades-ps. Retrieved 2009-05-21
2.^ "Movie Czar, Will Hays, Dies in Ind. Home Town". Schenectady Gazette. March 8, 1954. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=gQ4uAAAAIBAJ&sjid=X4EFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2089,940138&dq=motion+picture+producers+and+distributors+of+america+postmaster+hays&hl=en. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
3.^ "THEATRE OWNERS OPEN WAR ON HAYS; 1,500 in Association Are Joined by Independent Producers in Attack on Convention Eve. CALLED 'MOVIE TRUST CZAR' Leaders at Milwaukee, Assailing Domination of "Big Three," Predict Ousting of "Dictator."". The New York Times. May 12, 1925. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60D17FB3B5B12738DDDAB0994DD405B858EF1D3.
4.^ NYT, October 29, 1925
5.^ The American Film Industry, by Tino Balio, p.259, University of Wisconsin Press, 1985, ISBN 0299098745
6.^ "Johnston Made New Film Czar". The Deseret News. September 19, 1945. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=xyVSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=qXcDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3444,1842096&dq=motion+picture+producers+and+distributors+of+america&hl=en. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
7.^ Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America. Hutchinson. http://encyclopedia.farlex.com/Motion+Picture+Producers+and+Distributors+of+America. Retrieved 2009-05-21.
8.^ Chris Dodd's leading role. Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/01/AR2011030106474.html. Retrieved 2011-03-02.
9.^ "Frequently Asked Questions". Motion Picture Association of America. http://mpaa.org/faq. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
10.^ Hearings before the Subcommittee on Courts, Civil Liberties and the Administration of Justice of the Committee of the Judiciary, House of Representatives, Ninety-seventh Congress, Second Session on H.R. 4783, H.R. 4794 H.R. 4808, H.R. 5250, H.R. 5488, and H.R. 5705, Serial No 97, Part I, Home Recording of Copyrighted Works, April 12, 1982. US Government Printing Office. "We are going to bleed and bleed and hemorrhage, unless this Congress at least protects one industry that is able to retrieve a surplus balance of trade and whose total future depends on its protection from the savagery and the ravages of this machine." Later in the testimony, he stated, "I say to you that the VCR is to the American film producer and the American public as the Boston Strangler is to the woman home alone."
11.^ "Launch of Anti-Piracy Movie Trailer: Be HIP at the Movies". Intellectual Property Office of Singapore. July 27, 2004. http://www.ipos.gov.sg/topNav/news/pre/2004/Launch+of+anti+piracy+movie+trailer.htm. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
12.^ Kirk, Jeremy (May 11, 2006). "MPAA Trains Dogs to Sniff Out Pirate DVDs". PC World. Archived from the original on January 24, 2012. http://www.pcworld.com/article/125679/mpaa_trains_dogs_to_sniff_out_pirate_dvds.html.
13.^ Ahrens, Frank (September 27, 2006). "On the Trail of 'Wag the Dog'". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 24, 2012. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/26/AR2006092601505.html.
14.^ a b "MPAA press release, February 21, 2006" (Press release). Mpaa.org. http://www.mpaa.org/press_releases/2006_02_23.pdf. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
15.^ Mikael Viborg's personal blog entry, dated June 1, 2006 Archive copy at the Wayback Machine
16.^ "USA-hot bakom fildelningsrazzia". Dagens Nyheter. June 20, 2006. http://www.dn.se/DNet/jsp/polopoly.jsp?a=554160. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
17.^ "MPAA press release, May 31, 2006" (Press release). Mpaa.org. http://www.mpaa.org/press_releases/2006_05_31.pdf. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
18.^ "Steal This Film II". Stealthisfilm.com. http://www.stealthisfilm.com/Part2/. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
19.^ ""Good Copy Bad Copy" website". Goodcopybadcopy.net. http://www.goodcopybadcopy.net/about. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
20.^ "MPAA admits mistake on downloading study". arstechnica.com. 2008-01-23. Archived from the original on 2008-01-24. http://web.archive.org/web/20080124150846/http://www.newsweek.com/id/98009. Retrieved 2010-09-08.
21.^ "2008 shaping up to be "Year of Filters" at colleges, ISPs". arstechnica.com. 2008-01-22. http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080115-filtering-could-come-to-isps-colleges-in-2008.html. Retrieved 2008-01-22.
22.^ "Movie piracy more popular than ever". Computing.co.uk. 2007-01-29. http://www.computing.co.uk/vnunet/news/2173629/movie-pirating-popular-ever. Retrieved 2007-07-26.
23.^ "Studios Move to Thwart Illegal File Sharing on Major Pirate Networks: MPAA Companies Take Action Against Torrent, eDonkey and Newsgroup Sites Used by Millions" (PDF). MPAA press release. 2006-02-23. http://www.MPAA.org/press_releases/2006_02_23.pdf.
24.^ Elliott, Justin (January 23, 2012). "Dodd accused of “bribery” over SOPA remarks". Salon. http://www.salon.com/2012/01/23/dodd_accused_of_bribery_over_sopa_remarks/singleton/.
25.^ Thomas, Brett (February 19, 2007). "MPAA violates software license". bit-tech.net. http://www.bit-tech.net/news/bits/2007/02/19/MPAA_violates_software_license/. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
26.^ Paul, Ryan (2007-12-04). "MPAA’s University Toolkit hit with DMCA takedown notice after GPL violation". ars technica. arstechnica, LLC. http://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/2007/12/mpaas-university-toolkit-hit-with-dmca-takedown-notice-after-gpl-violation.ars. Retrieved 2007-12-07.
27.^ "The monopoly of the MPAA". The Daily Princetonian. The Daily Princetonian. http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2011/04/05/28123/. Retrieved 2012-01-21.
28.^ "RealNetworks accuses MPAA of antitrust violations". CNET News. CNET News. http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10240490-93.html. Retrieved 2012-01-21.
29.^ Kirby Dick (2006-01-25). This Film Is Not Yet Rated (Film).
30.^ Schager, Nick (August 21, 2006). "Unfair Use: An Interview with Kirby Dick". Slant Magazine. http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/feature/unfair-use-an-interview-with-kirby-dick/45. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
31.^ Cullum, Paul (August 16, 2006). "Freedom of Information: Copyright and its Discontents". LA Weekly. http://www.laweekly.com/2006-08-17/film-tv/freedom-of-information. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
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ESRB

2012-03-19T22:24:35Z

Conservatives:

Entertainment Software Rating Board From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Esrb)
Jump to: navigation, search "ESRB" redirects here. For the European financial agency, see European Systemic Risk Board.
This article or section needs copy editing in order to create readable prose, proper spacing, and/or standard section length.
You can assist by editing it now. A how-to guide is available.(March 2011)
Entertainment Software Rating Board
Type Non-profit, self-regulatory
Industry Organization and rating system
Predecessor(s) 3DO Rating System
Recreational Software Advisory Council
Videogame Rating Council
Founded 1994[1] in Canada and United States
Headquarters New York City, New York, USA
Area served Canada
United States
Mexico
Key people Patricia Vance
(President)
Website http://www.esrb.org/

The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is a self-regulatory organization that assigns age and content ratings, enforces industry-adopted advertising guidelines, and ensures responsible online privacy principles for computer and video games as well as entertainment software in Canada, Mexico and the United States.[2] They were established in 1994 by the Entertainment Software Association (formerly Interactive Digital Software Association), due to violent content found in video games such as Night Trap, Mortal Kombat, Lethal Enforcers, and Doom, and other controversial video games portraying overly violent or intense sexual situations and assigns ratings to games based on their content, similar to the motion picture rating systems used in many countries. Their aim is to aid consumers in determining a game's content and suitability. A game's rating is displayed on its box, the media, in advertisements and on the game's website(s).[1] By late 2009, it had assigned nearly 19,130 ratings to titles submitted by more than 350 publishers.

Although the rating system is voluntary, nearly all video games are submitted for rating. Many retail stores prohibit the sale of unrated video games and the major console manufacturers will not license games for their systems unless they carry ESRB ratings.

Contents [hide]
1 Ratings
1.1 Unrestricted ratings
1.2 Restricted ratings
1.3 Other ratings
1.4 Former ratings
1.5 Content descriptors
2 Rating process
3 Background and history
4 Criticism and controversy
4.1 Violence and the AO rating
4.2 Hidden content
4.3 News leaks
4.4 Blocking content
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

[edit] RatingsThe symbols ESRB uses are stylized alphabetical letters meant to indicate the game's suitability.

[edit] Unrestricted ratingsAbbreviation Rating Active since Description Recommended for
Early Childhood (EC) 1994 Games with this rating contain no material that adults would find inappropriate.[3] This content is minimal in impact. Games that fall under this rating are specifically intended for young children and are usually educational. 3 and over
Everyone (E) 1998 Games in this category may contain no or minimal cartoon, fantasy or mild violence. This content is mild in impact. This rating replaced K-A in 1997. 6 and over
Everyone 10+ (E10+) Late 2004 Contains content that might be considered suitable for children 10 years of age and up. The content is mild to fairly moderate in impact. Games in this category may contain minimal cartoon, fantasy, violence, language, animated blood and/or minimal suggestive themes. The ESRB distributed this rating on October 1, 2004; the first game to receive the rating was Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. 10 and over
Teen (T) 1994 Contains content that may be suitable for people 13 and older. However, it is not required that people under 13 must be accompanied by an adult to buy these games. This content is moderate to fairly strong in impact. Titles in this category may contain more intense violence, suggestive themes, crude humor, mild or no blood, simulated gambling, and/or infrequent use of vulgar language. 13 and over

[edit] Restricted ratingsAbbreviation Rating Active since Description Age Restricted
Mature (M) 1994 Titles in this category may contain more blood and gore than the Teen rating would accommodate, sexual themes/content/references (which are censored, most case) and vulgar language.[3] This content is strong in impact. Many retailers have a policy of not selling games with this rating to people under 17, at least without parental approval. 17 and over
Adults Only (AO) 1994 Contains content that is considered unsuitable for people under 18 years of age, and cannot be bought by anyone below that age. These may include adult video games that show sex and graphic nudity, extreme violence and blood and gore. As of 2012[update], there have been twenty-one products that have received and kept the rating. The content is extreme in impact. The AO rating is the subject of ongoing, heated controversy due to the extreme restrictions it places on game sales. Games from major publishers that receive an AO rating are often 'toned down' in order to gain the lesser rating of M. Companies like Microsoft,[4] Sony and Nintendo[5] all have policies not allowing AO rated games to be licensed on their consoles. Additionally, most major retailers, including the ones mentioned above, have similar policies that forbid AO rated titles to be carried on store shelves and online. This consequently restricts AO rated games to the PC and Mac, and being sold in limited fashion. 18 and over

[edit] Other ratingsAbbreviation Rating Active since Description

Rating Pending (RP) 1994 First symbol is only for use in advertising and marketing materials. Second symbol indicates product(s) has been submitted to the ESRB and is awaiting final rating(s). However, once rated, all pre-release advertising must contain the game's official ESRB rating. Some games, depending on the intensity of their content, may also prompt the use of the disclaimer, "May contain content inappropriate for children." It will only be one rating like Everyone and Mature. The true rating of an upcoming game will be unknown until the actual release of the game takes place. The true content is either unknown or extreme in impact.

[edit] Former ratingsAbbreviation Rating Active Description Recommended for
Kids to Adults (K-A) 1994–1997 These titles will appeal to people of many ages and tastes. Titles in this category may contain minimal violence, some comic mischief (i.e. slapstick and gross-out comedy), or some crude language. This rating was replaced in 1997 by the E rating, and all games previously rated K-A became E-rated. 6 and over

[edit] Content descriptorsThe 30 content descriptors consist of:

Alcohol Reference - Reference to and/or images of alcoholic beverages
Animated Blood - Unrealistic depictions of blood, including depictions of blood that isn't colored red
Blood - Realistic depictions of blood
Blood and Gore - Depictions of blood and/or mutilations
Cartoon Violence - Unrealistic (and often jocular) depiction of violence (i.e., a character incurs an injury that would severely hurt or kill someone in real life, but in the cartoon world, the character is either fine moments later or mildly hurt and comically shown in bandages)
Comic Mischief - Depictions or dialogue involving slapstick or suggestive humor
Crude Humor - Depictions or dialogue involving vulgar antics, including “toilet” humor
Drug Reference - Reference to and/or depictions of drugs (legal or otherwise)
Fantasy Violence - Violent actions of a fantasy nature, involving human or non-human characters in situations easily distinguishable from real life
Intense Violence - Graphic and realistic-looking depictions of physical conflict. May involve extreme and/or realistic blood, gore, use of weapons, and depictions of human injury and death
Mild Language - Mild to moderate use of profanity
Mild Lyrics - Mild adult references (profanity, sexuality, drug abuse, and/or violence) in musical lyrics
Mature Humor - Depictions or dialogue involving "adult" humor, including explicit sexual references
Nudity - Graphic or prolonged depictions of nudity
Partial Nudity - Brief and/or mild depictions of nudity
Real Gambling - Player can gamble, including betting real cash or currency
Sexual Content - Implicit references to sexuality (may also include partial nudity or implications of intercourse)
Sexual Themes - Verbal references to sex or sexuality
Sexual Violence - Depictions or references to rape or violent sexual acts
Simulated Gambling - Player can gamble without betting real cash or currency
Strong Language - Explicit and/or frequent use of profanity
Strong Lyrics - Explicit and/or frequent adult references (sexuality, drug use, and violence) in musical lyrics
Strong Sexual Content - Explicit and/or frequent references to sexuality (often including stronger or more frequent scenes of nudity and/or more explicit references to intercourse)
Suggestive Themes - Mild references to sexual or other "adult" themes
Tobacco Reference - Allusions to tobacco products
Use of Drugs - Depictions of characters consuming drugs (legal or otherwise)
Use of Alcohol - Depictions of characters consuming alcoholic beverages
Use of Tobacco - Depictions of characters consuming tobacco (particularly in the form of cigarette smoking)
Violence - Scenes involving aggressive conflict. May contain bloodless carnage and/or bloodless dismemberment
Violent References - References to violent acts
[edit] Rating processTo obtain a rating for a game, a publisher sends the ESRB videotaped footage of the most graphic and extreme content found in the game. The publisher also fills out a questionnaire describing the game's content and pays a fee based on the game's development cost:[6]

$800 fee for development costs under $250,000
$4,000 fee for development costs over $250,000
On its website, the ESRB states that three trained raters, working independently, watch the footage and recommend a rating. If all raters agree on the rating, content descriptors are added and the ESRB notifies the publisher of its decision. If there is no consensus, additional raters review the footage and materials, or the majority opinion rules. After the rating is agreed upon, the ESRB in-house personnel review the footage and all materials to ensure that all information is accurate and a certificate is sent to the publisher. However, that decision is not final. If the publisher wishes, they may edit the game and resubmit the footage and questionnaire in order to achieve a lower rating, or appeal the information to a committee made up of entertainment software industry representatives. If this is the case, the process begins anew.

When the game is ready for release, the publisher sends copies of the final version of the game to the ESRB. The game packaging is reviewed, and the ESRB says that its in-house personnel randomly play games to ensure that all the information provided during the rating process was complete and accurate. Penalties may apply to the publisher if it is eventually found, either through the in-house personnel's playing or consumer comments that the game's content is more extreme than the publisher stated in its application.

The identities of the ESRB raters are kept confidential and selected randomly from a pool of full-time ESRB employees who live in the New York City area. According to an ESRB introductory brochure from 1994: "The raters represent a wide range of backgrounds, races, and ages and have no ties to the interactive entertainment industry. Raters include retired school principals, parents, professionals, and other individuals from all walks of life." Raters are supposed to review games as if they were the customer and receiving their first glance at the game. They are then required to take testing before becoming ESRB raters.[7]

[edit] Background and historyAs video-gaming progressed into the 16-bit era, graphics and sound capabilities were dramatically increased. Blood and gore were much clearer and vibrant than in 8-bit games. For example blood in an 8-bit game may look blocky and pixelated while in 16-bit it can be a fluid graphic that can easily be identified. After the release of games such as Mortal Kombat, Doom, Night Trap and Lethal Enforcers, there was controversy over extreme video game content. Hearings on video game violence and the corruption of society, headed by Joe Lieberman and Herb Kohl were held in late 1992 to 1993. The result of the hearings was that the entertainment software industry was given one year to form a working rating system or the federal government would intervene and create its own system. Around this time, the Videogame Rating Council (VRC) was formed by Sega of America largely to rate its own games. In 1993, the Interactive Digital Software Association (IDSA) was formed. In 1993, the 3DO Company formed their own rating system for games released on the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer called the 3DO Rating System. In 1994, the Recreational Software Advisory Council (RSAC) was formed by the Software Publishers Association.[8] On July 29, 1994 the proposal from the IDSA for a rating system, the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) was presented in Congress[9] and approved.[9] In September 1994, the ESRB was established and became the de facto rater of video games in the United States.[10] At this time, many companies who produced computer games such as LucasArts, Sierra On-Line and 3D Realms continued to follow the RSAC system as they were members of the SPA. Eventually, all companies, including 3DO, agreed to follow the ESRB ratings.

Initially, there were five different ratings: Early Childhood, Kids to Adults, Teen, Mature and Adults Only. Shortly thereafter, the Informational and Edutainment descriptors were added. In 1996, the rating icons were altered so that it would be more clear who rated the product (this can be seen in the image of the Mature icon above). On January 1, 1998, the Kids to Adults rating was replaced with Everyone. Also in 1998, the Entertainment Software Rating Board Interactive (ESRBi) was formed, which rated web sites and online games. In late 1999, in order to make the rating symbols more legible, the pixelated rating icons were replaced with black and white icons. Beginning in early 2001, and continuing for the next couple of years, several of the content descriptors were retired and replaced. Content descriptors with "Animated" or "Realistic" in them had those portions removed. Also, the "Skills" descriptors used for the Early Childhood rating were removed as well. A short time later, the Gaming descriptor was changed to Gambling, which itself was split into Real and Simulated Gambling in the following years.[11]

In mid 2003, the ESRBi was closed down. On June 26, 2003, the content descriptors were made larger and more legible and newer, more thorough descriptors for violence (Cartoon, Fantasy, Intense) were added as well as a descriptor for Mature Humor. Also, the Mature and Adults Only icons had a 17+ and 18+ added to their title band in order to clearly signify the age appropriateness. On March 2, 2005, after conferring with academicians and child development experts, the Everyone 10+ rating was introduced.[12] Originally, raters were hired on a part-time basis; as of April 2007, the ESRB employs raters full-time.[13]

[edit] Criticism and controversy[edit] Violence and the AO ratingThe ESRB has often been accused of not rating games harshly enough for violence and other related themes. Games such as Harvester, Manhunt, Rise of the Triad, Mortal Kombat, and Soldier of Fortune have shown gruesome violence, yet received the M rating. Many critics have claimed that these games deserve the AO rating[14] and were given the M for commercial reasons.[15] Rise of the Triad in particular, received the highest violence descriptor: "Wanton and gratuitous violence" from the RSAC, which was mitigated by being rated M by the ESRB. However, in the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Ontario, their respective provincial governments classified Soldier of Fortune and Manhunt as motion pictures, and gave them "Restricted" ratings, restricting their sale to adults only.[16] The ESRB has only given out the AO rating solely for violence two times: once for Thrill Kill (which was cancelled after the developer was bought by Electronic Arts) and the second time for Manhunt 2.[17] The Punisher[18] was not actually officially given the rating though was threatened with it and thus toned down the violence (by placing the offending scenes in black-and-white) because of it. Manhunt 2 was edited before release in order to qualify for the M category, though an uncut PC version has since been released with an AO rating. Of particular concern to the ESRB was a scene depicting castration, which was removed entirely from the M-rated console versions of the game. Thrill Kill received an AO rating with content descriptors for Animated Violence and Animated Blood and Gore. It was never released after the original publisher, Virgin Entertainment, was purchased by Electronic Arts who was more concerned about the adult content.[19] The violence in Thrill Kill was a concern to the ESRB as it was sexualized, with sadomasochistic activities.[citation needed]

GameSpy has suggested that Grand Theft Auto III (which was also their 2001 "Game of the Year") is in a class of its own compared to other ESRB Mature rated games, saying "Counter-Strike is merely Cowboys and Indians writ large. When you get right down to it, deathmatches are just elaborate games of Tag. GTA 3 is a Thug Simulator...[GTA 3 is] absolutely reprehensible. This is a game that rewards you for causing mayhem. This is a game that is about causing mayhem. It's a game that rewards you for killing innocent people by the dozen."[20]

Critics have claimed that the ESRB will only rate games AO if they have sexual content in them, no matter how much violence is present. Twenty-three products have been given and kept the AO rating. One was given it for unsimulated online gambling. Two were given for violence (see above). The rest were given it for sexual content and/or nudity. One game, Mass Effect featured two mild sexual scenes and was passed as an M, leading to controversy on the Fox News Channel as well as an internet meme known as "alien side boob." Another, God of War, came with many different sex scenes, some of them interactive, and, unlike Mass Effect, it was not subject to controversies or protests (although they take place off screen). As for AO-rated titles, one, Riana Rouge, had "Strong Sexual Content" as a content descriptor and also had "Realistic Blood & Gore". Similarly, Critical Point had "Strong Sexual Content" and "Violence" as descriptors. The latter is an eroge, and the former has Playboy Playmates in softcore sex scenes. This criticism is shared with the movie rating systems. Lula 3D contains descriptors for "Blood", "Strong Language" and "Violence" in addition to sexually explicit material. Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy Director's Cut also received the AO rating. While the game contains content identical to the original North American version titled Indigo Prophecy ("Blood", "Strong Language", "Use of Drugs and Alcohol" and "Violence"), the only content that was added in the director's cut version was sex scenes with nudity, one of which was interactive. Much like Fahrenheit, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas originally received an M rating but was changed to an AO rating because interactive sex scenes could be accessed in the game. It should be noted that many adult oriented products, including erotica, have actually received M ratings. For example, The Guy Game and the Leisure Suit Larry series. However, these products are not carried by many major retailers (and many are usually grouped with adult products anyway) because of the sexual content. The Private Party expansion pack for the PC version of Playboy: The Mansion (an M-rated game) was given an AO rating for "Strong Sexual Content" and "Nudity", despite all sexual activity being completely blurred out.

[edit] Hidden contentMain articles: Hot Coffee minigame controversy and ESRB re-rating of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
In 2005, members of the mod community discovered that Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas for Windows could be modified to unlock an incomplete sex mini-game known as "Hot Coffee", which Rockstar North had decided to leave out of the final game. California State Assemblyman Leland Yee used the situation to rebuke both Rockstar and the ESRB and argued that the ESRB was not doing its job properly. U.S. Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Joe Lieberman also expressed their disapproval. Rockstar initially claimed that the mini-game was created by the mod community and was not a part of the original game. However, their stance changed when it was discovered that a third-party cheat device could be used to unlock the "Hot Coffee" scenes in console versions of the game. Shortly after, Rockstar conceded that the sex mini-game was in all released versions of the game, albeit inaccessible without third-party modification.[21] The ESRB responded to the controversy by re-evaluating the game and changing its rating from M to AO, setting a precedent that games can be re-rated based on external factors such as third-party cheat devices. Although this made Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas the best selling game to receive an AO rating, Rockstar soon released a patch that disabled the modification on PC versions and re-released the game as Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Second Edition. The new release disabled all access to the "Hot Coffee" mini-game and was given the game's original M rating by the ESRB as a result.

In 2006, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion had its rating changed from T to M due to "more detailed depictions of blood and gore than were considered in the original rating, as well as a mod that, if accessed through a third-party modification to the PC version of the game, allows the user to play with topless versions of female characters." The game's publisher decided not to remaster or re-release the game to remove the hidden texture, stating that it believed the original rating was the most accurate assessment of what parents should expect from the game, since the texture was intended to be inaccessible to players. However, this texture was actually only used to provide a non-clipping texture for some armor types.[22][23][24]

Rockstar Games' Manhunt 2 was postponed for three months in the United States as well as several other countries and continents due to uncensored relentless violence and gore. The game was given an initial AO rating by the ESRB and received a revised M rating after numerous edits. It was released on October 31, 2007. Less than a week after the release, it was discovered that it was possible to modify the PS2 and PSP versions of the game to erase the patches that censored the violent content. Rockstar Games has since claimed that even with the unauthorized patches that remove some of the screen blurring that many of the scenes were toned down from the original version submitted to the ESRB for rating. Following that, the ESRB chose not to change the game's rating after the drawn-out process of giving it the M rating. Ultimately, a completely uncut and uncensored beta for the PS2 and PSP versions were found by cracking into Manhunt 2, and an AO-rated PC version was released by Rockstar as a download exclusive on November 6, 2009 to the download site, Direct2Drive.com, as virtually all North American retailers refuse to stock AO-rated games.

Similarly, The Punisher was hacked into to allow uncensored kills, and the PC version had patches to remove the filters and intensify the violence.

[edit] News leaksThe ESRB typically posts rating information for new titles on its website 30 days after the rating process is complete. This can cause the existence of a title to become public information before the game is officially announced. As a result, the ESRB has implemented a process by which publishers with concerns about this practice can request that information about the game not be posted to the ESRB's website until a specific date.[25]

[edit] Blocking contentOn March 15, 2006, the ESRB gained, in an agreement with the video game software industry, the ability to restrict video game advertising "to consumers for whom the product is not rated as appropriate."[26] As a result, online retailers like Steam, Xbox Live Marketplace, PlayStation Network, and the Wii Shop Channel ban minors from downloading game demos or trailers for games rated Mature or Rating Pending.[27]

[edit] See alsoPEGI
Censorship
Censorship in the United States
Federal Communications Commission
MPAA - Motion Picture Association of America
Television content rating systems
Video game controversy
[edit] References1.^ a b What is the ESRB? from the ESRB FAQ
2.^ Rybka, Jason (2005). "ESRB Video Game Ratings and Video Game Content Descriptors". About.com. http://vgstrategies.about.com/od/faq/a/ESRBRatings.htm. Retrieved 2011-03-08.
3.^ a b http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt154.shtm
4.^ Kit Dotson (2010-12-29). [http://siliconangle User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windoows-to-block-ao-rated-games-from-the-xbox-360-console "Xbox refuses to allow AO rated games"]. http://siliconangle User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windoows-to-block-ao-rated-games-from-the-xbox-360-console. Retrieved 2011-01-12.
5.^ Brendan Sinclair (2007-06-20). "Sony, Nintendo refuse to allow AO rated games on their consoles". http://www.gamespot.com/news/6172830.html. Retrieved 2011-01-12.
6.^ "관계자들의 말씀 1. 한국의 게임위는 '플래시 게임'까지 심의를 하겠다고 한다. 그렇다면 미국의 ESRB는 어떨까? (추가)" (in Korean). 2007-06-06. http://pig-min.com/tt/611. Retrieved 2008-06-25.
7.^ Parent's Guide to Games series, by Craig Wessel
8.^ An Alternative to Government Regulation and Censorship: Content Advisory Systems for the Internet Published Papers
9.^ a b Kohler, Chris (2009-07-29). "July 29, 1994: Videogame Makers Propose Ratings Board to Congress". Condé Nast Publications (Wired). http://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/2009/07/dayintech_0729/. Retrieved 2011-06-01.
10.^ About ESRB
11.^ "The ESRB: What are you playing?". 2010-01-06. http://3xgamer.com/2010/01/esrb-playing/. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
12.^ A majority of the information in this section was obtained from the archived ESRB website, available at Internet Archive.
13.^ "ESRB hiring full-time raters" - GameSpot News, 2007-2-21.
14.^ Snuff games and ratings - CNN/Money.com, November 26, 2003.
15.^ The Ratings Game: The Controversy Over The ESRB - Game Informer magazine, August 2006.
16.^ "Ontario slaps 'R' rating on video game". CBC News. 2004-03-05. http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2004/03/04/manhunt040304.html.
17.^ "Manhunt 2 receives AO rating" - GameSpot News, 2007-06-19.
18.^ "Video game rating board don't get no respect" - Paul Hyman, The Hollywood Reporter, April 8, 2005.
19.^ "EA kills 'Thrill Kill' game before release". ZDNet. 1998-10-15. Archived from the original on 2006-11-16. http://web.archive.org/web/20061116223732/http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9595_22-512347.html. Retrieved 2006-12-18.
20.^ [1]
21.^ "Hidden sex scenes hit GTA rating". BBC News. 2005-07-21. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4702737.stm. Retrieved 2006-12-18.
22.^ "ESRB Changes Rating For The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion From Teen to Mature". ESRB. 2006-05-03. http://www.esrb.org/about/news/downloads/oblivion_release_5.3.06.pdf. Retrieved 2006-12-18.
23.^ Sinclair, Brendan (2006-05-03). "Oblivion rerated M for Mature". GameSpot News. http://www.gamespot.com/news/6148897.html. Retrieved 2006-12-18.
24.^ "Bethesda responds to Oblivion rerating". GameSpot News. 2006-05-03. http://www.gamespot.com/news/6148925.html. Retrieved 2006-12-18.
25.^ Graft, Kris (2008-06-19). "ESRB Reins In Premature Game Leaks". Next Generation News. http://www.next-gen.biz/news/esrb-reins-premature-game-leaks. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
26.^ Entertainment Software Rating Board Principles and Guidelines for Responsible Advertising Practices
27.^ Demos, Trailers and you - Xbox Lives Major Nelson
[edit] External linksOfficial website - ESRB.org
[show]v ·t ·eVideo game classifications and controversies

List of controversial video games · List of banned video games · Video game content rating system

Computer and
video game law Family Entertainment Protection Act · Truth in Video Game Rating Act · Video Game Decency Act · Video Recordings Act 1984 · California Assembly Bills 1792 & 1793 · Law 3037/2002

Game content
rating boards Active Australia · Brazil · Canada, Mexico and the United States · Europe · Finland · Germany · Iran · Japan · New Zealand · South Korea · Republic of China (Taiwan) · United Kingdom

Other ICRA

Defunct Platforms: 3DO · PC · Sega consoles
Countries: South Korea · United Kingdom · France

Lawsuits James v. Meow Media · Strickland v. Sony · Entertainment Software Association v. Foti · Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association

Groups Australian Christian Lobby · Fox News

People Michael Atkinson · Christian Porter · Evan Bayh · Sam Brownback · Hillary Rodham Clinton · Herb Kohl · Joe Lieberman · Jack Thompson · Fred Upton · Keith Vaz · Leland Yee

Genres Adult video game · Eroge · First-person shooter · Nonviolent video game · Survival horror

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Dinosaur

2012-03-19T22:22:24Z

Conservatives:

Dinosaur From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to: navigation, search For other uses, see Dinosaur (disambiguation).
Dinosaurs
Temporal range: Middle Triassic-Recent, 231.4–0 Ma
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Mounted skeletons of various non-avian dinosaurs, each from a different group. Clockwise from top-left are skeletons of: Tyrannosaurus, a predatory theropod; Diplodocus, a large sauropod; Parasaurolophus, a duck-billed ornithopod; Deinonychus, a bird-like dromaeosaurid; Protoceratops, an early ceratopsian; and Stegosaurus, a plated thyreophoran.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Branch: Dinosauriformes
Node: Dinosauria
Owen, 1842
Major groups
†Ornithischia
†Stegosauria
†Ankylosauria
†Ornithopoda
†Ceratopsia
Saurischia
†Sauropodomorpha
Theropoda

Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, approximately 230 million years ago, and became the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for 135 million years, from the beginning of the Jurassic (about 200 million years ago) until the end of the Cretaceous (65.5 million years ago), when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of most dinosaur groups at the close of the Mesozoic era. The fossil record indicates that birds evolved from theropod dinosaurs during the Jurassic, and consequently they are considered a type of dinosaur in modern classification systems.[1][2] Some birds survived the extinction event that occurred 65 million years ago, and continue the dinosaur lineage to the present day.

Dinosaurs are a varied group of animals from taxonomic, morphological and ecological standpoints. Birds, at over 9,000 living species, are the most diverse group of vertebrates besides perciform fish.[3] Using fossil evidence, paleontologists have identified over 500 distinct genera[4] and more than 1,000 different species of non-avian dinosaurs.[5] Dinosaurs are represented on every continent by both extant species and fossil remains.[6] Some are herbivorous, others carnivorous. Most dinosaurs have been bipedal, though many extinct groups included quadrupedal species, and some were able to shift between these body postures. Many species possess elaborate display structures such as horns or crests, and some prehistoric groups developed skeletal modifications such as bony armor and spines. Birds have been the planet's dominant flying vertebrate since the extinction of the pterosaurs, and evidence suggests that egg laying and nest building is a trait shared by all dinosaurs. Many prehistoric dinosaurs were large animals—the largest sauropods could reach lengths of almost 60 meters (200 feet) and were several stories tall—and while many extinct theropods were quite large, a majority evolved very small sizes, especially among birds and other advanced groups.

Although the word dinosaur means "terrible lizard," the name is somewhat misleading, as dinosaurs are not lizards. Rather, they represent a separate group of reptiles with a distinct upright posture not found in lizards. Through the first half of the 20th century, before birds were recognized to be dinosaurs, most of the scientific community believed dinosaurs were sluggish and cold-blooded. Most research conducted since the 1970s, however, has indicated that ancient dinosaurs, particularly the carnivorous groups, were active animals with elevated metabolisms and numerous adaptations for social interaction.

Since the first dinosaur fossils were recognized in the early 19th century, mounted fossil dinosaur skeletons or replicas have been major attractions at museums around the world, and dinosaurs have become a part of world culture. Their diversity, the large sizes of some groups, and their seemingly monstrous and fantastic nature have captured the interest and imagination of the general public for over a century. They have been featured in best-selling books and films such as Jurassic Park, and new discoveries are regularly covered by the media.

Contents [hide]
1 Etymology
2 Definition
2.1 General description
2.2 Distinguishing anatomical features
3 Evolutionary history
3.1 Origins and early evolution
3.2 Evolution and paleobiogeography
4 Classification
4.1 Taxonomy
5 Biology
5.1 Size
5.1.1 Largest and smallest
5.2 Social behavior
5.3 Communication
5.4 Reproductive biology
5.5 Waste
5.6 Physiology
6 Feathers and the origin of birds
6.1 Feathers
6.2 Skeleton
6.3 Soft anatomy
6.4 Behavioral evidence
7 Extinction of major groups
7.1 Impact event
7.2 Deccan Traps
7.3 Failure to adapt to changing conditions
7.4 Possible Paleocene survivors
8 History of study
8.1 The "dinosaur renaissance"
8.2 Soft tissue and DNA
9 Cultural depictions
10 See also
11 Notes and references
12 Further reading
13 External links

[edit] EtymologyThe taxon Dinosauria was formally named in 1842 by paleontologist Sir Richard Owen, who used it to refer to the "distinct tribe or sub-order of Saurian Reptiles" that were then being recognized in England and around the world.[7]:103 The term is derived from the Greek words δεινός (deinos, meaning "terrible," "potent," or "fearfully great") and σαῦρος (sauros, meaning "lizard" or "reptile").[7]:103[8] Though the taxonomic name has often been interpreted as a reference to dinosaurs' teeth, claws, and other fearsome characteristics, Owen intended it merely to evoke their size and majesty.[9]

[edit] Definition
Triceratops horridus skeleton, American Museum of Natural HistoryUnder phylogenetic taxonomy, dinosaurs are usually defined as the group consisting of "Triceratops, Neornithes [modern birds], their most recent common ancestor, and all descendants".[10] It has also been suggested that Dinosauria be defined with respect to the most recent common ancestor of Megalosaurus and Iguanodon, because these were two of the three genera cited by Richard Owen when he recognized the Dinosauria.[11] Both definitions result in the same set of animals being defined as dinosaurs: "Dinosauria = Ornithischia + Saurischia", encompassing theropods (mostly bipedal carnivores and birds), ankylosaurians (armored herbivorous quadrupeds), stegosaurians (plated herbivorous quadrupeds), ceratopsians (herbivorous quadrupeds with horns and frills), ornithopods (bipedal or quadrupedal herbivores including "duck-bills"), and, perhaps, sauropodomorphs (mostly large herbivorous quadrupeds with long necks and tails).

The common House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) is often used to represent modern birds in definitions of the group DinosauriaMany paleontologists note that the point at which sauropodomorphs and theropods diverged may omit sauropodomorphs from the definition for both saurischians and dinosaurs. To avoid instability, Dinosauria can be more conservatively defined with respect to four anchoring nodes: Triceratops horridus, Saltasaurus loricatus, and Passer domesticus, their most recent common ancestor, and all descendants. This "safer" definition can be expressed as "Dinosauria = Ornithischia + Sauropodomorpha + Theropoda".[12]

There is near universal consensus among paleontologists that birds are the descendants of theropod dinosaurs. In traditional taxonomy, birds were considered a separate "class" which had evolved from dinosaurs. However, a majority of modern paleontologists reject the traditional style of classification in favor of phylogenetic nomenclature, which requires that all descendants of a single common ancestor must be included in a group for that group to be natural. Birds are thus considered by most modern scientists to be dinosaurs and dinosaurs are, therefore, not extinct. Birds are classified by most paleontologists as belonging to the subgroup Maniraptora, which are coelurosaurs, which are theropods, which are saurischians, which are dinosaurs.[13]

[edit] General descriptionUsing one of the above definitions, dinosaurs can be generally described as archosaurs with limbs held erect beneath the body.[14] Many prehistoric animal groups are popularly conceived of as dinosaurs, such as ichthyosaurs, mosasaurs, plesiosaurs, pterosaurs, and Dimetrodon, but are not classified scientifically as dinosaurs, and none had the erect limb posture characteristic of true dinosaurs.[15] Dinosaurs were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates of the Mesozoic, especially the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Other groups of animals were restricted in size and niches; mammals, for example, rarely exceeded the size of a cat, and were generally rodent-sized carnivores of small prey.[16] One notable exception is Repenomamus giganticus, a triconodont weighing between 12 kilograms (26 lb) and 14 kilograms (31 lb) that is known to have eaten small dinosaurs like young Psittacosaurus.[17]

Stegosaurus stenops skeleton, Field MuseumDinosaurs have always been an extremely varied group of animals; according to a 2006 study, over 500 non-avialan dinosaur genera have been identified with certainty so far, and the total number of genera preserved in the fossil record has been estimated at around 1850, nearly 75% of which remain to be discovered.[4] An earlier study predicted that about 3400 dinosaur genera existed, including many which would not have been preserved in the fossil record.[18] By September 17, 2008, 1047 different species of dinosaurs had been named.[5] Some are herbivorous, others carnivorous. While most dinosaurs have been bipeds, some prehistoric species were quadrupeds, and others, such as Ammosaurus and Iguanodon, could walk just as easily on two or four legs. Cranial modifications like horns and crests are common among dinosaurs, and some extinct species had bony armor. Although known for large size, many Mesozoic dinosaurs were human-sized or smaller, and modern birds are generally very small in size. Dinosaurs today inhabit every continents, and fossils show that they had achieved global distribution by at least the early Jurassic period.[6] Modern birds inhabit most available habitats, from terrestrial to marine, and there is evidence that some non-avialan dinosaurs (such as Microraptor) could fly or at least glide, and others, such as spinosaurids, had semi-aquatic habits.[19]

[edit] Distinguishing anatomical featuresWhile recent discoveries have made it more difficult to present a universally agreed-upon list of dinosaurs' distinguishing features, nearly all dinosaurs discovered so far share certain modifications to the ancestral archosaurian skeleton. Although some later groups of dinosaurs featured further modified versions of these traits, they are considered typical across Dinosauria; the earliest dinosaurs had them and passed them on to all their descendants. Such common features across a taxonomic group are called synapomorphies.

A detailed assessment of archosaur interrelations by S. Nesbitt[20] confirmed or found the following 12 unambiguous synapomorphies, some previously known:

in the skull, a supratemporal fossa (excavation) is present in front of the supratemporal fenestra
epipophyses present in anterior neck vertebrae (except atlas and axis)
apex of deltopectoral crest (a projection on which the deltopectoral muscles attach) located at or more than 30% down the length of the humerus (upper arm bone)
radius shorter than 80% of humerus length
fourth trochanter (projection where the caudofemoralis muscle attaches) on the femur (thigh bone) is a sharp flange
fourth trochanter asymmetrical, with distal margin forming a steeper angle to the shaft
on the astragalus and calcaneum the proximal articular facet for fibula occupies less than 30% of the transverse width of the element
exocciptials (bones at the back of the skull) do not meet along the midline on the floor of the endocranial cavity
proximal articular surfaces of the ischium with the ilium and the pubis separated by a large concave surface
cnemial crest on the tibia (shinbone) arcs anterolaterally
distinct proximodistally oriented ridge present on the posterior face of the distal end of the tibia
Nesbitt found a number of further potential synapomorphies, and discounted a number of synapomorphies previously suggested. Some of these are also present in silesaurids, which Nesbitt recovered as a sister group to Dinosauria, including a large anterior trochanter, metatarsals II and IV of subequal length, reduced contact between ischium and pubis, the presence of a cenmial crest on the tibia and of an ascending process on the astragalus,[10] and many others.

Edmontonia was an armored dinosaur of the group Ankylosauria.
Hip joints and hindlimb posturesA variety of other skeletal features are shared by dinosaurs. However, because they are either common to other groups of archosaurs or were not present in all early dinosaurs, these features are not considered to be synapomorphies. For example, as diapsids, dinosaurs ancestrally had two pairs of temporal fenestrae (openings in the skull behind the eyes), and as members of the diapsid group Archosauria, had additional openings in the snout and lower jaw.[21] Additionally, several characteristics once thought to be synapomorphies are now known to have appeared before dinosaurs, or were absent in the earliest dinosaurs and independently evolved by different dinosaur groups. These include an elongated scapula, or shoulder blade; a sacrum composed of three or more fused vertebrae (three are found in some other archosaurs, but only two are found in Herrerasaurus);[10] and an acetabulum, or hip socket, with a hole at the center of its inside surface (closed in Saturnalia, for example).[22] Another difficulty of determining distinctly dinosaurian features is that early dinosaurs and other archosaurs from the Late Triassic are often poorly known and were similar in many ways; these animals have sometimes been misidentified in the literature.[23]

Dinosaurs stand erect in a manner similar to most modern mammals, but distinct from most other reptiles, whose limbs sprawl out to either side.[24] This posture is due to the development of a laterally facing recess in the pelvis (usually an open socket) and a corresponding inwardly facing distinct head on the femur.[25] Their erect posture enabled early dinosaurs to breathe easily while moving, which likely permitted stamina and activity levels that surpassed those of "sprawling" reptiles.[26] Erect limbs probably also helped support the evolution of large size by reducing bending stresses on limbs.[27] Some non-dinosaurian archosaurs, including rauisuchians, also had erect limbs but achieved this by a "pillar erect" configuration of the hip joint, where instead of having a projection from the femur insert on a socket on the hip, the upper pelvic bone was rotated to form an overhanging shelf.[27]

[edit] Evolutionary historyMain article: Evolution of dinosaurs
[edit] Origins and early evolution
Marasuchus, a dinosaur-like ornithodiranDinosaurs diverged from their archosaur ancestors approximately 230 million years ago during the Middle to Late Triassic period, roughly 20 million years after the Permian–Triassic extinction event wiped out an estimated 95% of all life on Earth.[28][29] Radiometric dating of the rock formation that contained fossils from the early dinosaur genus Eoraptor establishes its presence in the fossil record at this time. Paleontologists think that Eoraptor resembles the common ancestor of all dinosaurs;[30] if this is true, its traits suggest that the first dinosaurs were small, bipedal predators.[31] The discovery of primitive, dinosaur-like ornithodirans such as Marasuchus and Lagerpeton in Argentinian Middle Triassic strata supports this view; analysis of recovered fossils suggests that these animals were indeed small, bipedal predators.

When dinosaurs appeared, terrestrial habitats were occupied by various types of archosaurs and therapsids, such as aetosaurs, cynodonts, dicynodonts, ornithosuchids, rauisuchians, and rhynchosaurs. Most of these other animals became extinct in the Triassic, in one of two events. First, at about the boundary between the Carnian and Norian faunal stages (about 215 million years ago), dicynodonts and a variety of basal archosauromorphs, including the prolacertiforms and rhynchosaurs, became extinct. This was followed by the Triassic–Jurassic extinction event (about 200 million years ago), that saw the end of most of the other groups of early archosaurs, like aetosaurs, ornithosuchids, phytosaurs, and rauisuchians. These losses left behind a land fauna of crocodylomorphs, dinosaurs, mammals, pterosaurians, and turtles.[10] The first few lines of early dinosaurs diversified through the Carnian and Norian stages of the Triassic, most likely by occupying the niches of the groups that became extinct.

The early forms Herrerasaurus (large), Eoraptor (small) and a Plateosaurus skull[edit] Evolution and paleobiogeography
Earth during the Jurassic, the period in which dinosaurs gained global distribution. The continents were in different locations from where they are today.Dinosaur evolution after the Triassic follows changes in vegetation and the location of continents. In the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic, the continents were connected as the single landmass Pangaea, and there was a worldwide dinosaur fauna mostly composed of coelophysoid carnivores and early sauropodomorph herbivores.[32] Gymnosperm plants (particularly conifers), a potential food source, radiated in the Late Triassic. Early sauropodomorphs did not have sophisticated mechanisms for processing food in the mouth, and so must have employed other means of breaking down food farther along the digestive tract.[33] The general homogeneity of dinosaurian faunas continued into the Middle and Late Jurassic, where most localities had predators consisting of ceratosaurians, spinosauroids, and carnosaurians, and herbivores consisting of stegosaurian ornithischians and large sauropods. Examples of this include the Morrison Formation of North America and Tendaguru Beds of Tanzania. Dinosaurs in China show some differences, with specialized sinraptorid theropods and unusual, long-necked sauropods like Mamenchisaurus.[32] Ankylosaurians and ornithopods were also becoming more common, but prosauropods had become extinct. Conifers and pteridophytes were the most common plants. Sauropods, like the earlier prosauropods, were not oral processors, but ornithischians were evolving various means of dealing with food in the mouth, including potential cheek-like organs to keep food in the mouth, and jaw motions to grind food.[33] Another notable evolutionary event of the Jurassic was the appearance of true birds, descended from maniraptoran coelurosaurians.[13]

By the Early Cretaceous and the ongoing breakup of Pangaea, dinosaurs were becoming strongly differentiated by landmass. The earliest part of this time saw the spread of ankylosaurians, iguanodontians, and brachiosaurids through Europe, North America, and northern Africa. These were later supplemented or replaced in Africa by large spinosaurid and carcharodontosaurid theropods, and rebbachisaurid and titanosaurian sauropods, also found in South America. In Asia, maniraptoran coelurosaurians like dromaeosaurids, troodontids, and oviraptorosaurians became the common theropods, and ankylosaurids and early ceratopsians like Psittacosaurus became important herbivores. Meanwhile, Australia was home to a fauna of basal ankylosaurians, hypsilophodonts, and iguanodontians.[32] The stegosaurians appear to have gone extinct at some point in the late Early Cretaceous or early Late Cretaceous. A major change in the Early Cretaceous, which would be amplified in the Late Cretaceous, was the evolution of flowering plants. At the same time, several groups of dinosaurian herbivores evolved more sophisticated ways to orally process food. Ceratopsians developed a method of slicing with teeth stacked on each other in batteries, and iguanodontians refined a method of grinding with tooth batteries, taken to its extreme in hadrosaurids.[33] Some sauropods also evolved tooth batteries, best exemplified by the rebbachisaurid Nigersaurus.[34]

There were three general dinosaur faunas in the Late Cretaceous. In the northern continents of North America and Asia, the major theropods were tyrannosaurids and various types of smaller maniraptoran theropods, with a predominantly ornithischian herbivore assemblage of hadrosaurids, ceratopsians, ankylosaurids, and pachycephalosaurians. In the southern continents that had made up the now-splitting Gondwana, abelisaurids were the common theropods, and titanosaurian sauropods the common herbivores. Finally, in Europe, dromaeosaurids, rhabdodontid iguanodontians, nodosaurid ankylosaurians, and titanosaurian sauropods were prevalent.[32] Flowering plants were greatly radiating,[33] with the first grasses appearing by the end of the Cretaceous.[35] Grinding hadrosaurids and shearing ceratopsians became extremely diverse across North America and Asia. Theropods were also radiating as herbivores or omnivores, with therizinosaurians and ornithomimosaurians becoming common.[33]

The Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, which occurred approximately 65 million years ago at the end of the Cretaceous period, caused the extinction of all dinosaur groups except for the neornithine birds. Some other diapsid groups, such as crocodilians, sebecosuchians, turtles, lizards, snakes, sphenodontians, and choristoderans, also survived the event.[36]

The surviving lineages of neornithine birds, including the ancestors of modern ratites, ducks and chickens, and a variety of waterbirds, diversified rapidly at the beginning of the Paleogene period, entering ecological niches left vacant by the extinction of Mesozoic dinosaur groups such as the arboreal enantiornithines, aquatic hesperornithines, and even the larger terrestrial theropods (in the form of Gastornis, mihirungs, and "terror birds"). However, mammals were also rapidly diversifying during this time, and out-competed the neornithines for dominance of most terrestrial niches.[37]

[edit] ClassificationMain article: Dinosaur classification
Dinosaurs are archosaurs, like modern crocodilians. Within the archosaur group, dinosaurs are differentiated most noticeably by their gait. Dinosaur legs extend directly beneath the body, whereas the legs of lizards and crocodilians sprawl out to either side.

Collectively, dinosaurs as a clade are divided into two primary branches, Saurischia and Ornithischia. Saurischia includes those taxa sharing a more recent common ancestor with birds than with Ornithischia, while Ornithischia includes all taxa sharing a more recent common ancestor with Triceratops than with Saurischia. Anatomically, these two groups can be distinguished most noticeably by their pelvic structure. Early saurischians ("lizard-hipped", from the Greek sauros (σαυρος) meaning "lizard" and ischion (ισχιον) meaning "hip joint") retained the hip structure of their ancestors, with a pubis bone directed cranially, or forward.[25] This basic form was modified by rotating the pubis backward to varying degrees in several groups (Herrerasaurus,[38] therizinosauroids,[39] dromaeosaurids,[40] and birds[13]). Saurischia includes the theropods (exclusively bipedal and with a wide variety of diets) and sauropodomorphs (long-necked herbivores which include advanced, quadrupedal groups).

By contrast, ornithischians ("bird-hipped", from the Greek ornitheios (ορνιθειος) meaning "of a bird" and ischion (ισχιον) meaning "hip joint") had a pelvis that superficially resembled a bird's pelvis: the pubis bone was oriented caudally (rear-pointing) Unlike birds, the ornithischian pubis also usually had an additional forward-pointing process. Ornithischia includes a variety of species which were primarily herbivores. (NB: the terms "lizard hip" and "bird hip" are misnomers – birds evolved from dinosaurs with "lizard hips".)

Saurischian pelvis structure (left side)
Tyrannosaurus pelvis (showing saurischian structure – left side)
Ornithischian pelvis structure (left side)
Edmontosaurus pelvis (showing ornithischian structure – left side)
[edit] TaxonomyThe following is a simplified classification of dinosaur groups based on their evolutionary relationships, and organized based on the list of Mesozoic dinosaur species provided by Holtz (2008).[41] A more detailed version can be found at Dinosaur classification. The cross (†) is used to signify groups with no living members.

Various ornithopod dinosaurs and one heterodontosaurid. Far left: Camptosaurus, left: Iguanodon, center background: Shantungosaurus, center foreground: Dryosaurus, right: Corythosaurus, far right (small): Heterodontosaurus, far right (large) Tenontosaurus.
Several macronarian Sauropods: from left to right Camarasaurus, Brachiosaurus, Giraffatitan, and EuhelopusDinosauria
Saurischia ("lizard-hipped"; includes Theropoda and Sauropodomorpha)
Theropoda (all bipedal; most were carnivorous)
†Herrerasauria (early bipedal carnivores)
†Coelophysoidea (small, early theropods; includes Coelophysis and close relatives)
†Dilophosauridae (early crested and carnivorous theropods)
†Ceratosauria (generally elaborately horned, the dominant southern carnivores of the Cretaceous)
Tetanurae ("stiff tails"; includes most theropods)
†Megalosauroidea (early group of large carnivores including the semi-aquatic spinosaurids)
†Carnosauria (Allosaurus and close relatives, like Carcharodontosaurus)
Coelurosauria (feathered theropods, with a range of body sizes and niches)
†Compsognathidae (common early coelurosaurs with reduced forelimbs)
†Tyrannosauridae (Tyrannosaurus and close relatives; had reduced forelimbs)
†Ornithomimosauria ("ostrich-mimics"; mostly toothless; carnivores to possible herbivores)
†Alvarezsauroidea (small insectivores with reduced forelimbs each bearing one enlarged claw)
Maniraptora ("hand snatchers"; had long, slender arms and fingers)
†Therizinosauria (bipedal herbivores with large hand claws and small heads)
†Oviraptorosauria (mostly toothless; their diet and lifestyle are uncertain)
†Archaeopterygidae (small, winged theropods or primitive birds)
†Deinonychosauria (small- to medium-sized; bird-like, with a distinctive toe claw)
Avialae (modern birds and extinct relatives)
†Scansoriopterygidae (small primitive avialans with long third fingers)
†Omnivoropterygidae (large, early short-tailed avialans)
†Confuciusornithidae (small toothless avialans)
†Enantiornithes (primitive tree-dwelling, flying avialans)
Euornithes (advanced flying birds)
†Yanornithiformes (toothed Cretaceous Chinese birds)
†Hesperornithes (specialized aquatic diving birds)
Aves (modern, beaked birds and their extinct relatives)
†Sauropodomorpha (herbivores with small heads, long necks, long tails)
†Guaibasauridae (small, primitive, omnivorous sauropodomorphs)
†Plateosauridae (primitive, strictly bipedal "prosauropods")
†Riojasauridae (small, primitive sauropodomorphs)
†Massospondylidae (small, primitive sauropodomorphs)
†Sauropoda (very large and heavy, usually over 15 meters (49 feet) long; quadrupedal)
†Vulcanodontidae (primitive sauropods with pillar-like limbs)
†Eusauropoda ("true sauropods")
†Cetiosauridae ("whale reptiles")
†Turiasauria (European group of Jurassic and Cretaceous sauropods)
†Neosauropoda ("new sauropods")
†Diplodocoidea (skulls and tails elongated; teeth typically narrow and pencil-like)
†Macronaria (boxy skulls; spoon- or pencil-shaped teeth)
†Brachiosauridae (long-necked, long-armed macronarians)
†Titanosauria (diverse; stocky, with wide hips; most common in the Late Cretaceous of southern continents)
†Ornithischia ("bird-hipped"; diverse bipedal and quadrupedal herbivores)
†Heterodontosauridae (small basal ornithopod herbivores/omnivores with prominent canine-like teeth)
†Thyreophora (armored dinosaurs; mostly quadrupeds)
†Ankylosauria (scutes as primary armor; some had club-like tails)
†Stegosauria (spikes and plates as primary armor)
†Neornithischia ("new ornithischians")
†Ornithopoda (various sizes; bipeds and quadrupeds; evolved a method of chewing using skull flexibility and numerous teeth)
†Marginocephalia (characterized by a cranial growth)
†Pachycephalosauria (bipeds with domed or knobby growth on skulls)
†Ceratopsia (quadrupeds with frills; many also had horns)
[edit] BiologyKnowledge about dinosaurs is derived from a variety of fossil and non-fossil records, including fossilized bones, feces, trackways, gastroliths, feathers, impressions of skin, internal organs and soft tissues.[42][43] Many fields of study contribute to our understanding of dinosaurs, including physics (especially biomechanics), chemistry, biology, and the earth sciences (of which paleontology is a sub-discipline). Two topics of particular interest and study have been dinosaur size and behavior.

[edit] SizeMain article: Dinosaur size

Scale diagram comparing the largest known dinosaurs in five major clades and a humanCurrent evidence suggests that dinosaur average size varied through the Triassic, early Jurassic, late Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.[30] Theropod dinosaurs, when sorted by estimated weight into categories based on order of magnitude, most often fall into the 100 to 1000 kilogram (220 to 2200 lb) category, whereas recent predatory carnivorans peak in the 10 to 100 kilogram (22 to 220 lb) category.[44] The mode of dinosaur body masses is between one and ten metric tonnes.[45] This contrasts sharply with the size of Cenozoic mammals, estimated by the National Museum of Natural History as about 2 to 5 kilograms (5 to 10 lb).[46]

The sauropods were the largest and heaviest dinosaurs. For much of the dinosaur era, the smallest sauropods were larger than anything else in their habitat, and the largest were an order of magnitude more massive than anything else that has since walked the Earth. Giant prehistoric mammals such as the Paraceratherium (the largest land mammal ever) were dwarfed by the giant sauropods, and only modern whales approach or surpass them in size.[47] There are several proposed advantages for the large size of sauropods, including protection from predation, reduction of energy use, and longevity, but it may be that the most important advantage was dietary. Large animals are more efficient at digestion than small animals, because food spends more time in their digestive systems. This also permits them to subsist on food with lower nutritive value than smaller animals. Sauropod remains are mostly found in rock formations interpreted as dry or seasonally dry, and the ability to eat large quantities of low-nutrient browse would have been advantageous in such environments.[48]

[edit] Largest and smallestScientists will probably never be certain of the largest and smallest dinosaurs. This is because only a tiny percentage of animals ever fossilize, and most of these remain buried in the earth. Few of the specimens that are recovered are complete skeletons, and impressions of skin and other soft tissues are rare. Rebuilding a complete skeleton by comparing the size and morphology of bones to those of similar, better-known species is an inexact art, and reconstructing the muscles and other organs of the living animal is, at best, a process of educated guesswork.

Comparative size of GiraffatitanThe tallest and heaviest dinosaur known from good skeletons is Giraffatitan brancai (previously classified as a species of Brachiosaurus). Its remains were discovered in Tanzania between 1907–12. Bones from several similar-sized individuals were incorporated into the skeleton now mounted and on display at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin;[49] this mount is 12 meters (39 ft) tall and 22.5 meters (74 ft) long, and would have belonged to an animal that weighed between 30000 and 60000 kilograms (70000 and 130000 lb). The longest complete dinosaur is the 27-meter (89 ft) long Diplodocus, which was discovered in Wyoming in the United States and displayed in Pittsburgh's Carnegie Natural History Museum in 1907.

Comparative size of EoraptorThere were larger dinosaurs, but knowledge of them is based entirely on a small number of fragmentary fossils. Most of the largest herbivorous specimens on record were all discovered in the 1970s or later, and include the massive Argentinosaurus, which may have weighed 80000 to 100000 kilograms (90 to 110 short tons); some of the longest were the 33.5 meters (110 ft) long Diplodocus hallorum[48] (formerly Seismosaurus) and the 33 meters (108 ft) long Supersaurus;[50] and the tallest, the 18 meters (59 ft) tall Sauroposeidon, which could have reached a sixth-floor window. The heaviest and longest of them all may have been Amphicoelias fragillimus, known only from a now lost partial vertebral neural arch described in 1878. Extrapolating from the illustration of this bone, the animal may have been 58 meters (190 ft) long and weighed over 120000 kg (260000 lb).[48] The largest known carnivorous dinosaur was Spinosaurus, reaching a length of 16 to 18 meters (50 to 60 ft), and weighing in at 8150 kg (18000 lb).[51] Other large meat-eaters included Giganotosaurus, Carcharodontosaurus and Tyrannosaurus.[52]

Not including modern birds, the smallest known dinosaurs known were about the size of a pigeon.[53] Not surprisingly, the smallest dinosaurs were theropods closely related to birds. Anchiornis and Epidexipteryx both had a total skeletal length of under 35 centimeters (1.1 ft).[53][54] Anchiornis is currently the smallest dinosaur described from an adult specimen, with an estimated weight of 110 grams.[54] The smallest herbivorous dinosaurs included Microceratus and Wannanosaurus, at about 60 cm (2 ft) long each.[41][55]

[edit] Social behavior
A nesting ground of Maiasaura was discovered in 1978.Many modern birds are highly social, often found living in flocks. There is general agreement that some behaviors which are common in birds, as well as in crocodiles (bird' closest living relatives), were also common among extinct dinosaur groups. Interpretations of behavior in fossil species are generally based on the pose of skeletons and their habitat, computer simulations of their biomechanics, and comparisons with modern animals in similar ecological niches.

The first potential evidence for herding or flocking as a widespread behavior common to many dinosaur groups in addition to birds was the 1878 discovery of 31 Iguanodon bernissartensis, ornithischians which were then thought to have perished together in Bernissart, Belgium, after they fell into a deep, flooded sinkhole and drowned.[56] Other mass-death sites have been subsequently discovered. Those, along with multiple trackways, suggest that gregarious behavior was common in many early dinosaur species. Trackways of hundreds or even thousands of herbivores indicate that duck-bills (hadrosaurids) may have moved in great herds, like the American Bison or the African Springbok. Sauropod tracks document that these animals traveled in groups composed of several different species, at least in Oxfordshire, England,[57] although there is not evidence for specific herd structures.[58] Congregated into herds may have evolved for defense, for migratory purposes, or to provide protection for young. There is evidence that many types of slow-growing dinosaurs, including various theropods, sauropods, ankylosaurians, ornithopods, and ceratopsians, formed aggregations of immature individuals. One example is a site in Inner Mongolia that has yielded the remains of over 20 Sinornithomimus, from one to seven years old. This assemblage is interpreted as a social group that was trapped in mud.[59] The interpretation of dinosaurs as gregarious has also extended to depicting carnivorous theropods as pack hunters working together to bring down large prey.[60][61] However, this lifestyle is uncommon among modern birds, crocodiles, and other reptiles, and the taphonomic evidence suggesting mammal-like pack hunting in such theropods as Deinonychus and Allosaurus can also be interpreted as the results of fatal disputes between feeding animals, as is seen in many modern diapsid predators.[62]

Artist's rendering of two Centrosaurus, herbivorous ceratopsid dinosaurs from the late Cretaceous fauna of North AmericaThe crests and frills of some dinosaurs, like the marginocephalians, theropods and lambeosaurines, may have been too fragile to be used for active defense, and so they were likely used for sexual or aggressive displays, though little is known about dinosaur mating and territorialism. Head wounds from bites suggest that theropods, at least, engaged in active aggressive confrontations.[63]

From a behavioral standpoint, one of the most valuable dinosaur fossils was discovered in the Gobi Desert in 1971. It included a Velociraptor attacking a Protoceratops,[64] providing evidence that dinosaurs did indeed attack each other.[65] Additional evidence for attacking live prey is the partially healed tail of an Edmontosaurus, a hadrosaurid dinosaur; the tail is damaged in such a way that shows the animal was bitten by a tyrannosaur but survived.[65] Cannibalism amongst some species of dinosaurs was confirmed by tooth marks found in Madagascar in 2003, involving the theropod Majungasaurus.[66]

Comparisons between the scleral rings of dinosaurs and modern birds and reptiles have been used to infer daily activity patterns of dinosaurs. Although it has been suggested that most dinosaurs were active during the day, these comparisons have shown that small predatory dinosaurs such as dromaeosaurids, Juravenator, and Megapnosaurus were likely nocturnal. Large and medium-sized herbivorous and omnivorous dinosaurs such as ceratopsians, sauropodomorphs, hadrosaurids, ornithomimosaurs may have been cathemeral, active during short intervals throughout the day, although the small ornithischian Agilisaurus was inferred to be diurnal.[67]

Based on current fossil evidence from dinosaurs such as Oryctodromeus, some herbivorous species seem to have led a partially fossorial (burrowing) lifestyle,[68] and some bird-like species may have been arboreal (tree climbing), most notably primitive dromaeosaurids such as Microraptor[69] and the enigmatic scansoriopterygids.[70] However, most dinosaurs seem to have relied on land-based locomotion. A good understanding of how dinosaurs moved on the ground is key to models of dinosaur behavior; the science of biomechanics, in particular, has provided significant insight in this area. For example, studies of the forces exerted by muscles and gravity on dinosaurs' skeletal structure have investigated how fast dinosaurs could run,[71] whether diplodocids could create sonic booms via whip-like tail snapping,[72] and whether sauropods could float.[73]

[edit] Communication
Artists impression of a striking and unusual visual display in an LambeosaurusModern birds are well known for communicating using primarily visual and auditory signals, and the wide diversity of visual display structures among fossil dinosaur groups suggests that visual communication has always been important to dinosaur biology. However, the evolution of dinosaur vocalization is less certain. In 2008, paleontologist Phil Senter examined the evidence for vocalization in Mesozoic animal life, including dinosaurs.[74] Senter found that, contrary to popular depictions of roaring dinosaurs in motion pictures, it is likely that most Mesozoic dinosaurs were not capable of creating any vocalizations (though the hollow crests of the lambeosaurines could have functioned as resonance chambers used for a wide range of vocalizations).[75][76] To draw this conclusion, Senter studied the distribution of vocal organs in modern reptiles and birds. He found that vocal cords in the larynx probably evolved multiple times among reptiles, including crocodilians, which are able to produce guttural roars. Birds, on the other hand, lack a larynx. Instead, bird calls are produced by the syrinx, a vocal organ found only in birds, and which is not related to the larynx, meaning it evolved independently from the vocal organs in reptiles. The syrinx depends on the air sac system in birds to function; specifically, it requires the presence of a clavicular air sac near the wishbone or collar bone. This air sac leaves distinctive marks or opening on the bones, including a distinct opening in the upper arm bone (humerus). While extensive air sac systems are a unique characteristic of saurischian dinosaurs, the clavicular air sac necessary to vocalize does not appear in the fossil record until the enantiornithines (one exception, Aerosteon, probably evolved its clavicular air sac independently of birds for reasons other than vocalization).[74]

The most primitive dinosaurs with evidence of a vocalizing syrinx are the enantironithine birds. Any bird-line archosaurs more primitive than this probably did not make vocal calls. Rather, several lines of evidence suggest that early dinosaurs used primarily visual communication, in the form of distinctive-looking (and possibly brightly colored) horns, frills, crests, sails and feathers. This is similar to some modern reptile groups such as lizards, in which many forms are largely silent (though like dinosaurs they possess well-developed senses of hearing) but use complex coloration and display behaviors to communicate.[74]

In addition, dinosaurs use other methods of producing sound for communication. Other animals, including other reptiles, use a wide variety of non-vocal sound communication, including hissing, jaw grinding or clapping, use of environment (such as splashing), and wing beating (possible in winged maniraptoran dinosaurs).[74]

[edit] Reproductive biologyAll known dinosaurs reproduce by laying hard-shelled eggs. When laying eggs, females grow a special type of bone between the hard outer bone and the marrow of their limbs. This medullary bone, which is rich in calcium, is used to make eggshells. A discovery of features in a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton provided evidence of medullary bone in extinct dinosaurs and, for the first time, allowed paleontologists to establish the sex of a fossil dinosaur specimen. Further research has found medullary bone in the theropod Allosaurus and the ornithopod Tenontosaurus. Because the line of dinosaurs that includes Allosaurus and Tyrannosaurus diverged from the line that led to Tenontosaurus very early in the evolution of dinosaurs, this suggests that dinosaurs in general produced medullary tissue.[77]

Fossilized egg of the oviraptorid Citipati, American Museum of Natural HistoryAnother widespread trait among modern birds is parental care for young after hatching. Jack Horner's 1978 discovery of a Maiasaura ("good mother dinosaur") nesting ground in Montana demonstrated that parental care continued long after birth among ornithopods, suggesting this behavior might have been common among Mesozoic dinosaurs.[78] There is also evidence that other Cretaceous-era dinosaurs, like Patagonian titanosaurian sauropods (1997 discovery), also nested in large groups.[79] A specimen of the Mongolian oviraptorid Citipati was discovered in a chicken-like brooding position in 1993, which may mean it was covered with an insulating layer of feathers that kept the eggs warm.[80] Parental care is also implied by other finds. For example, the fossilized remains of a grouping of Psittacosaurus has been found, consisting of one adult and 34 juveniles; in this case, the large number of juveniles may be due to communal nesting.[81] Additionally, a dinosaur embryo (pertaining to the prosauropod Massospondylus) was found without teeth, indicating that some parental care was required to feed the young dinosaur.[82] Trackways have also confirmed parental behavior among ornithopods from the Isle of Skye in northwestern Scotland.[83] Nests and eggs have been found for most major groups of dinosaurs, and it appears likely that all dinosaurs cared for their young to some extent either before or shortly after hatching.

[edit] WasteLike other reptiles, dinosaurs are primarily uricotelic, that is, their kidneys extract nitrogenous wastes from their bloodstream and excrete it as uric acid instead of urea or ammonia via the ureters into the intestine. In most living species, uric acid is excreted along with feces as a semisolid waste.[84][85][86] However, at least some modern birds (such as hummingbirds) can be facultatively ammonotelic, excreting most of the nitrogenous wastes as ammonia.[87] They also excrete creatine, rather than creatinine like mammals. This material, as well as the output of the intestines, emerges from the cloaca.[88][89] In addition, many species regurgitate pellets, and fossil pellets that may have come from dinosaurs are known from as long ago as the Cretaceous period.[90]

[edit] PhysiologyMain article: Physiology of dinosaurs

Tyrannosaurus rex skull and upper vertebral column, Palais de la Découverte, ParisBecause both modern crocodilians and birds have four-chambered hearts (albeit modified in crocodilians), it is likely that this is a trait shared by all archosaurs, including all dinosaurs.[91] While all modern birds have high metabolisms and are "warm blooded" (endothermic), a vigorous debate has been ongoing since the 1960s regarding how far back in the dinosaur lineage this trait extends. Originally, scientists broadly disagreed as to whether non-avian dinosaurs were capable of regulating their body temperatures at all. More recently, endothermy for all dinosaurs has become the consensus view, and debate has focused on the mechanisms of temperature regulation.

After non-avian dinosaurs were discovered, paleontologists first posited that they were ectothermic creatures: "terrible lizards" as their name suggests. This supposed cold-bloodedness was used to imply that dinosaurs were relatively slow, sluggish organisms, even though many modern reptiles are fast and light-footed despite relying on external sources of heat to regulate their body temperature. The idea of dinosaurs as ectothermic and sluggish remained a prevalent view until Robert T. "Bob" Bakker, an early proponent of dinosaur endothermy, published an influential paper on the topic in 1968.[92]

Modern evidence indicates that even non-avian dinosaurs thrived in cooler temperate climates, and that at least some early species must have regulated their body temperature by internal biological means (aided by the animals' bulk in large species). Evidence of endothermy in Mesozoic dinosaurs includes the discovery of polar dinosaurs in Australia and Antarctica (where they would have experienced a cold, dark six-month winter), and analysis of blood-vessel structures within fossil bones that are typical of endotherms. Scientific debate continues regarding the specific ways in which dinosaur temperature regulation evolved.[93]

[edit] Feathers and the origin of birdsMain article: Origin of birds
The possibility that dinosaurs were the ancestors of birds was first suggested in 1868 by Thomas Henry Huxley.[94] After the work of Gerhard Heilmann in the early 20th century, the theory of birds as dinosaur descendants was abandoned in favor of the idea of their being descendants of generalized thecodonts, with the key piece of evidence being the supposed lack of clavicles in dinosaurs.[95] However, as later discoveries showed, clavicles (or a single fused wishbone, which derived from separate clavicles) were not actually absent;[13] they had been found as early as 1924 in Oviraptor, but misidentified as an interclavicle.[96] In the 1970s, John Ostrom revived the dinosaur–bird theory,[97] which gained momentum in the coming decades with the advent of cladistic analysis,[98] and a great increase in the discovery of small theropods and early birds.[21] Of particular note have been the fossils of the Yixian Formation, where a variety of theropods and early birds have been found, often with feathers of some type.[13] Birds share over a hundred distinct anatomical features with theropod dinosaurs, which are now generally accepted to have been their closest ancient relatives.[99] They are most closely allied with maniraptoran coelurosaurs.[13] A minority of scientists, most notably Alan Feduccia and Larry Martin, have proposed other evolutionary paths, including revised versions of Heilmann's basal archosaur proposal,[100] or that maniraptoran theropods are the ancestors of birds but themselves are not dinosaurs, only convergent with dinosaurs.[101]

[edit] FeathersMain article: Feathered dinosaurs

The famous Berlin Specimen of Archaeopteryx lithographicaArchaeopteryx was the first fossil found which revealed a potential connection between dinosaurs and birds. It is considered a transitional fossil, in that it displays features of both groups. Brought to light just two years after Darwin's seminal The Origin of Species, its discovery spurred the nascent debate between proponents of evolutionary biology and creationism. This early bird is so dinosaur-like that, without a clear impression of feathers in the surrounding rock, at least one specimen was mistaken for Compsognathus.[102]

Since the 1990s, a number of additional feathered dinosaurs have been found, providing even stronger evidence of the close relationship between dinosaurs and modern birds. Most of these specimens were unearthed in the lagerstätte of the Yixian Formation, Liaoning, northeastern China, which was part of an island continent during the Cretaceous. Though feathers have been found in only a few locations, it is possible that non-avian dinosaurs elsewhere in the world were also feathered. The lack of widespread fossil evidence for feathered non-avian dinosaurs may be because delicate features like skin and feathers are not often preserved by fossilization and thus are absent from the fossil record. To this point, protofeathers (thin, filament-like structures) are known from dinosaurs at the base of Coelurosauria, such as compsognathids like Sinosauropteryx and tyrannosauroids (Dilong),[103] but barbed feathers are known only among the coelurosaur subgroup Maniraptora, which includes oviraptorosaurs, troodontids, dromaeosaurids, and birds.[13][104] The description of feathered dinosaurs has not been without controversy; perhaps the most vocal critics have been Alan Feduccia and Theagarten Lingham-Soliar, who have proposed that protofeathers are the result of the decomposition of collagenous fiber that underlaid the dinosaurs' integument,[105][106][107] and that maniraptoran dinosaurs with barbed feathers were not actually dinosaurs, but convergent with dinosaurs.[101][106] However, their views have for the most part not been accepted by other researchers, to the point that the question of the scientific nature of Feduccia's proposals has been raised.[108]

[edit] SkeletonBecause feathers are often associated with birds, feathered dinosaurs are often touted as the missing link between birds and dinosaurs. However, the multiple skeletal features also shared by the two groups represent another important line of evidence for paleontologists. Areas of the skeleton with important similarities include the neck, pubis, wrist (semi-lunate carpal), arm and pectoral girdle, furcula (wishbone), and breast bone. Comparison of bird and dinosaur skeletons through cladistic analysis strengthens the case for the link.

[edit] Soft anatomy
Pneumatopores on the left ilium of Aerosteon riocoloradensisLarge meat-eating dinosaurs had a complex system of air sacs similar to those found in modern birds, according to an investigation which was led by Patrick O'Connor of Ohio University. The lungs of theropod dinosaurs (carnivores that walked on two legs and had bird-like feet) likely pumped air into hollow sacs in their skeletons, as is the case in birds. "What was once formally considered unique to birds was present in some form in the ancestors of birds", O'Connor said.[109] In a 2008 paper published in the online journal PLoS ONE, scientists described Aerosteon riocoloradensis, the skeleton of which supplies the strongest evidence to date of a dinosaur with a bird-like breathing system. CT-scanning revealed the evidence of air sacs within the body cavity of the Aerosteon skeleton.[110][111]

[edit] Behavioral evidenceFossils of the troodonts Mei and Sinornithoides demonstrate that some dinosaurs slept with their heads tucked under their arms.[112] This behavior, which may have helped to keep the head warm, is also characteristic of modern birds. Several deinonychosaur and oviraptorosaur specimens have also been found preserved on top of their nests, likely brooding in a bird-like manner.[113] The ratio between egg volume and body mass of adults among these dinosaurs suggest that the eggs were primarily brooded by the male, and that the young were highly precocial, similar to many modern ground-dwelling birds.[114]

Some dinosaurs are known to have used gizzard stones like modern birds. These stones are swallowed by animals to aid digestion and break down food and hard fibers once they enter the stomach. When found in association with fossils, gizzard stones are called gastroliths.[115]

[edit] Extinction of major groupsMain articles: Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event and K–Pg boundary
The discovery that birds are a type of dinosaur showed that dinosaurs in general are not, in fact, extinct as is commonly stated.[116] However, all non-avian dinosaurs as well as many groups of birds did suddenly become extinct approximately 65 million years ago. Many other groups of animals also became extinct at this time, including ammonites (nautilus-like mollusks), mosasaurs, plesiosaurs, pterosaurs, and many groups of mammals.[6] This mass extinction is known as the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event. The nature of the event that caused this mass extinction has been extensively studied since the 1970s; at present, several related theories are supported by paleontologists. Though the consensus is that an impact event was the primary cause of dinosaur extinction, some scientists cite other possible causes, or support the idea that a confluence of several factors was responsible for the sudden disappearance of dinosaurs from the fossil record.

At the peak of the Mesozoic, there were no polar ice caps, and sea levels are estimated to have been from 100 to 250 meters (300 to 800 ft) higher than they are today. The planet's temperature was also much more uniform, with only 25 °C (45 °F) separating average polar temperatures from those at the equator. On average, atmospheric temperatures were also much higher; the poles, for example, were 50 °C (90 °F) warmer than today.[117][118]

The atmosphere's composition during the Mesozoic is a matter for debate. While some academics argue that oxygen levels were much higher than today, others argue that biological adaptations seen in birds and dinosaurs indicate that respiratory systems evolved beyond what would be necessary if oxygen levels were high.[119] By the late Cretaceous, the environment was changing dramatically. Volcanic activity was decreasing, which led to a cooling trend as levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide dropped. Oxygen levels in the atmosphere also started to fluctuate and would ultimately fall considerably. Some scientists hypothesize that climate change, combined with lower oxygen levels, might have led directly to the demise of many species. If the dinosaurs had respiratory systems similar to those commonly found in modern birds, it may have been particularly difficult for them to cope with reduced respiratory efficiency, given the enormous oxygen demands of their very large bodies.[6]

[edit] Impact eventMain article: Chicxulub crater

The Chicxulub Crater at the tip of the Yucatán Peninsula; the impactor that formed this crater may have caused the dinosaur extinction.The asteroid collision theory, which was brought to wide attention in 1980 by Walter Alvarez and colleagues, links the extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous period to a bolide impact approximately 65.5 million years ago. Alvarez et al. proposed that a sudden increase in iridium levels, recorded around the world in the period's rock stratum, was direct evidence of the impact.[120] The bulk of the evidence now suggests that a bolide 5 to 15 kilometers (3 to 9 mi) wide hit in the vicinity of the Yucatán Peninsula (in southeastern Mexico), creating the approximately 180 km (110 mi) Chicxulub Crater and triggering the mass extinction.[121][122] Scientists are not certain whether dinosaurs were thriving or declining before the impact event. Some scientists propose that the meteorite caused a long and unnatural drop in Earth's atmospheric temperature, while others claim that it would have instead created an unusual heat wave. The consensus among scientists who support this theory is that the impact caused extinctions both directly (by heat from the meteorite impact) and also indirectly (via a worldwide cooling brought about when matter ejected from the impact crater reflected thermal radiation from the sun). Although the speed of extinction cannot be deduced from the fossil record alone, various models suggest that the extinction was extremely rapid, being down to hours rather than years.[123]

In September 2007, U.S. researchers led by William Bottke of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, and Czech scientists used computer simulations to identify the probable source of the Chicxulub impact. They calculated a 90% probability that a giant asteroid named Baptistina, approximately 160 km (99 mi) in diameter, orbiting in the asteroid belt which lies between Mars and Jupiter, was struck by a smaller unnamed asteroid about 55 km (35 mi) in diameter about 160 million years ago. The impact shattered Baptistina, creating a cluster which still exists today as the Baptistina family. Calculations indicate that some of the fragments were sent hurtling into earth-crossing orbits, one of which was the 10 km (6.2 mi) wide meteorite which struck Mexico's Yucatan peninsula 65 million years ago, creating the Chicxulub crater.[124] In 2011, new data from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer revised the date of the collision which created the Baptistina family to about 80 million years ago. This makes an asteroid from this family highly improbable to be the asteroid that created the Chicxulub Crater, as typically the process of resonance and collision of an asteroid takes many tens of millions of years.[125]

A similar but more controversial explanation proposes that "passages of the [hypothetical] solar companion star Nemesis through the Oort comet cloud would trigger comet showers."[126] One or more of these comets then collided with the Earth at approximately the same time, causing the worldwide extinction. As with the impact of a single asteroid, the end result of this comet bombardment would have been a sudden drop in global temperatures, followed by a protracted cool period.[126]

[edit] Deccan TrapsMain article: Deccan Traps
Before 2000, arguments that the Deccan Traps flood basalts caused the extinction were usually linked to the view that the extinction was gradual, as the flood basalt events were thought to have started around 68 million years ago and lasted for over 2 million years. However, there is evidence that two thirds of the Deccan Traps were created in only 1 million years about 65.5 million years ago, and so these eruptions would have caused a fairly rapid extinction, possibly over a period of thousands of years, but still longer than would be expected from a single impact event.[127][128]

The Deccan Traps could have caused extinction through several mechanisms, including the release into the air of dust and sulphuric aerosols, which might have blocked sunlight and thereby reduced photosynthesis in plants. In addition, Deccan Trap volcanism might have resulted in carbon dioxide emissions, which would have increased the greenhouse effect when the dust and aerosols cleared from the atmosphere.[128] Before the mass extinction of the dinosaurs, the release of volcanic gases during the formation of the Deccan Traps "contributed to an apparently massive global warming. Some data point to an average rise in temperature of 8 °C (14 °F) in the last half million years before the impact [at Chicxulub]."[127][128]

In the years when the Deccan Traps theory was linked to a slower extinction, Luis Alvarez (who died in 1988) replied that paleontologists were being misled by sparse data. While his assertion was not initially well-received, later intensive field studies of fossil beds lent weight to his claim. Eventually, most paleontologists began to accept the idea that the mass extinctions at the end of the Cretaceous were largely or at least partly due to a massive Earth impact. However, even Walter Alvarez has acknowledged that there were other major changes on Earth even before the impact, such as a drop in sea level and massive volcanic eruptions that produced the Indian Deccan Traps, and these may have contributed to the extinctions.[129]

[edit] Failure to adapt to changing conditionsLloyd et al. (2008) noted that, in the Mid Cretaceous, the flowering, angiosperm plants became a major part of terrestrial ecosystems, which had previously been dominated by gymnosperms such as conifers. Dinosaur coprolite–fossilized dung–indicate that, while some ate angiosperms, most herbivorous dinosaurs ate mainly gymnosperms. Statistical analysis by Lloyd et al. concluded that, contrary to earlier studies, dinosaurs did not diversify very much in the Late Cretaceous. Lloyd et al. suggested that dinosaurs' failure to diversify as ecosystems were changing doomed them to extinction.[130]

[edit] Possible Paleocene survivorsMain article: Paleocene dinosaurs
Non-avian dinosaur remains are occasionally found above the K–T boundary. In 2001, paleontologists Zielinski and Budahn reported the discovery of a single hadrosaur leg-bone fossil in the San Juan Basin, New Mexico, and described it as evidence of Paleocene dinosaurs. The formation in which the bone was discovered has been dated to the early Paleocene epoch, approximately 64.5 million years ago. If the bone was not re-deposited into that stratum by weathering action, it would provide evidence that some dinosaur populations may have survived at least a half million years into the Cenozoic Era.[131] Other evidence includes the finding of dinosaur remains in the Hell Creek Formation up to 1.3 meters (51 in) above (40000 years later than) the K–T boundary. Similar reports have come from other parts of the world, including China.[132] Many scientists, however, dismissed the supposed Paleocene dinosaurs as re-worked, that is, washed out of their original locations and then re-buried in much later sediments.[133][134] However, direct dating of the bones themselves has supported the later date, with U–Pb dating methods resulting in a precise age of 64.8 ± 0.9 million years ago.[135] If correct, the presence of a handful of dinosaurs in the early Paleocene would not change the underlying facts of the extinction.[133]

[edit] History of studyFurther information: History of paleontology
Dinosaur fossils have been known for millennia, although their true nature was not recognized. The Chinese, whose modern word for dinosaur is konglong (恐龍, or "terrible dragon"), considered them to be dragon bones and documented them as such. For example, Hua Yang Guo Zhi, a book written by Zhang Qu during the Western Jin Dynasty, reported the discovery of dragon bones at Wucheng in Sichuan Province.[136] Villagers in central China have long unearthed fossilized "dragon bones" for use in traditional medicines, a practice that continues today.[137] In Europe, dinosaur fossils were generally believed to be the remains of giants and other creatures killed by the Great Flood.

Marsh's 1896 illustration of the bones of Stegosaurus, a dinosaur he described and named in 1877.Scholarly descriptions of what would now be recognized as dinosaur bones first appeared in the late 17th century in England. Part of a bone, now known to have been the femur of a Megalosaurus,[138] was recovered from a limestone quarry at Cornwell near Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, England, in 1676. The fragment was sent to Robert Plot, Professor of Chemistry at the University of Oxford and first curator of the Ashmolean Museum, who published a description in his Natural History of Oxfordshire in 1677. He correctly identified the bone as the lower extremity of the femur of a large animal, and recognized that it was too large to belong to any known species. He therefore concluded it to be the thigh bone of a giant human similar to those mentioned in the Bible. In 1699, Edward Lhuyd, a friend of Sir Isaac Newton, was responsible for the first published scientific treatment of what would now be recognized as a dinosaur when he described and named a sauropod tooth, "Rutellum implicatum",[139][140] that had been found in Caswell, near Witney, Oxfordshire.[141]

William BucklandBetween 1815 and 1824, the Rev William Buckland, a professor of geology at Oxford University, collected more fossilized bones of Megalosaurus and became the first person to describe a dinosaur in a scientific journal.[138][142] The second dinosaur genus to be identified, Iguanodon, was discovered in 1822 by Mary Ann Mantell – the wife of English geologist Gideon Mantell. Gideon Mantell recognized similarities between his fossils and the bones of modern iguanas. He published his findings in 1825.[143][144]

The study of these "great fossil lizards" soon became of great interest to European and American scientists, and in 1842 the English paleontologist Richard Owen coined the term "dinosaur". He recognized that the remains that had been found so far, Iguanodon, Megalosaurus and Hylaeosaurus, shared a number of distinctive features, and so decided to present them as a distinct taxonomic group. With the backing of Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the husband of Queen Victoria, Owen established the Natural History Museum in South Kensington, London, to display the national collection of dinosaur fossils and other biological and geological exhibits.

In 1858, the first known American dinosaur was discovered, in marl pits in the small town of Haddonfield, New Jersey (although fossils had been found before, their nature had not been correctly discerned). The creature was named Hadrosaurus foulkii. It was an extremely important find: Hadrosaurus was one of the first nearly complete dinosaur skeletons found (the first was in 1834, in Maidstone, Kent, England), and it was clearly a bipedal creature. This was a revolutionary discovery as, until that point, most scientists had believed dinosaurs walked on four feet, like other lizards. Foulke's discoveries sparked a wave of dinosaur mania in the United States.

Othniel Charles Marsh, 19th century photograph
Edward Drinker Cope, 19th century photographDinosaur mania was exemplified by the fierce rivalry between Edward Drinker Cope and Othniel Charles Marsh, both of whom raced to be the first to find new dinosaurs in what came to be known as the Bone Wars. The feud probably originated when Marsh publicly pointed out that Cope's reconstruction of an Elasmosaurus skeleton was flawed: Cope had inadvertently placed the plesiosaur's head at what should have been the animal's tail end. The fight between the two scientists lasted for over 30 years, ending in 1897 when Cope died after spending his entire fortune on the dinosaur hunt. Marsh 'won' the contest primarily because he was better funded through a relationship with the US Geological Survey. Unfortunately, many valuable dinosaur specimens were damaged or destroyed due to the pair's rough methods: for example, their diggers often used dynamite to unearth bones (a method modern paleontologists would find appalling). Despite their unrefined methods, the contributions of Cope and Marsh to paleontology were vast: Marsh unearthed 86 new species of dinosaur and Cope discovered 56, a total of 142 new species. Cope's collection is now at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, while Marsh's is on display at the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University.[145]

After 1897, the search for dinosaur fossils extended to every continent, including Antarctica. The first Antarctic dinosaur to be discovered, the ankylosaurid Antarctopelta oliveroi, was found on Ross Island in 1986, although it was 1994 before an Antarctic species, the theropod Cryolophosaurus ellioti, was formally named and described in a scientific journal.

Current dinosaur "hot spots" include southern South America (especially Argentina) and China. China in particular has produced many exceptional feathered dinosaur specimens due to the unique geology of its dinosaur beds, as well as an ancient arid climate particularly conducive to fossilization.

[edit] The "dinosaur renaissance"Main article: Dinosaur renaissance
The field of dinosaur research has enjoyed a surge in activity that began in the 1970s and is ongoing. This was triggered, in part, by John Ostrom's discovery of Deinonychus, an active predator that may have been warm-blooded, in marked contrast to the then-prevailing image of dinosaurs as sluggish and cold-blooded. Vertebrate paleontology has become a global science. Major new dinosaur discoveries have been made by paleontologists working in previously unexploited regions, including India, South America, Madagascar, Antarctica, and most significantly China (the amazingly well-preserved feathered dinosaurs in China have further consolidated the link between dinosaurs and their conjectured living descendants, modern birds). The widespread application of cladistics, which rigorously analyzes the relationships between biological organisms, has also proved tremendously useful in classifying dinosaurs. Cladistic analysis, among other modern techniques, helps to compensate for an often incomplete and fragmentary fossil record.

[edit] Soft tissue and DNAOne of the best examples of soft-tissue impressions in a fossil dinosaur was discovered in Petraroia, Italy. The discovery was reported in 1998, and described the specimen of a small, very young coelurosaur, Scipionyx samniticus. The fossil includes portions of the intestines, colon, liver, muscles, and windpipe of this immature dinosaur.[42]

In the March 2005 issue of Science, the paleontologist Mary Higby Schweitzer and her team announced the discovery of flexible material resembling actual soft tissue inside a 68-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex leg bone from the Hell Creek Formation in Montana. After recovery, the tissue was rehydrated by the science team.[43]

When the fossilized bone was treated over several weeks to remove mineral content from the fossilized bone-marrow cavity (a process called demineralization), Schweitzer found evidence of intact structures such as blood vessels, bone matrix, and connective tissue (bone fibers). Scrutiny under the microscope further revealed that the putative dinosaur soft tissue had retained fine structures (microstructures) even at the cellular level. The exact nature and composition of this material, and the implications of Schweitzer's discovery, are not yet clear; study and interpretation of the material is ongoing.[43]

The successful extraction of ancient DNA from dinosaur fossils has been reported on two separate occasions, but, upon further inspection and peer review, neither of these reports could be confirmed.[146] However, a functional visual peptide of a theoretical dinosaur has been inferred using analytical phylogenetic reconstruction methods on gene sequences of related modern species such as reptiles and birds.[147] In addition, several proteins, including hemoglobin,[148] have putatively been detected in dinosaur fossils.[149]

[edit] Cultural depictionsMain article: Cultural depictions of dinosaurs
By human standards, dinosaurs were creatures of fantastic appearance and often enormous size. As such, they have captured the popular imagination and become an enduring part of human culture. Entry of the word "dinosaur" into the common vernacular reflects the animals' cultural importance: in English, "dinosaur" is commonly used to describe anything that is impractically large, obsolete, or bound for extinction.[150]

Public enthusiasm for dinosaurs first developed in Victorian England, where in 1854, three decades after the first scientific descriptions of dinosaur remains, the famous dinosaur sculptures were unveiled in London's Crystal Palace Park. The Crystal Palace dinosaurs proved so popular that a strong market in smaller replicas soon developed. In subsequent decades, dinosaur exhibits opened at parks and museums around the world, ensuring that successive generations would be introduced to the animals in an immersive and exciting way.[151] Dinosaurs' enduring popularity, in its turn, has resulted in significant public funding for dinosaur science, and has frequently spurred new discoveries. In the United States, for example, the competition between museums for public attention led directly to the Bone Wars of the 1880s and 1890s, during which a pair of feuding paleontologists made enormous scientific contributions.[152]

The popular preoccupation with dinosaurs has ensured their appearance in literature, film and other media. Beginning in 1852 with a passing mention in Charles Dickens' Bleak House,[153] dinosaurs have been featured in large numbers of fictional works. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 1912 book The Lost World, the iconic 1933 film King Kong, 1954's Godzilla and its many sequels, the best-selling 1990 novel Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton and its 1993 film adaptation are just a few notable examples of dinosaur appearances in fiction. Authors of general-interest non-fiction works about dinosaurs, including some prominent paleontologists, have often sought to use the animals as a way to educate readers about science in general. Dinosaurs are ubiquitous in advertising; numerous companies have referenced dinosaurs in printed or televised advertisements, either in order to sell their own products or in order to characterize their rivals as slow-moving, dim-witted or obsolete.[154]

[edit] See also Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Dinosauria

Dinosaurs portal
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[edit] Notes and references1.^ Gauthier, Jacques; de Querioz, Kevin (2001). "Feathered dinosaurs, flying dinosaurs, crown dinosaurs, and the name 'Aves'." (PDF). New Perspectives on the Origin and Early Evolution of Birds: Proceedings of the International Symposium in Honor of John H. Ostrom. Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University. ISBN 0-912532-57-2. http://vertebrates.si.edu/herps/herps_pdfs/deQueiroz_pdfs/2001gaudeqost.pdf. Retrieved 2009-09-22.
2.^ Zhou, Z. (2004). "The origin and early evolution of birds: discoveries, disputes, and perspectives from fossil evidence". Naturwissenschaften 91 (10): 455–471. Bibcode 2004NW.....91..455Z. doi:10.1007/s00114-004-0570-4. PMID 15365634.
3.^ Alfaro, M.E., F. Santini, C. Brock, H. Alamillo, A. Dornburg. D.L. Rabosky, G. Carnevale, and L.J. Harmon (2009). "Nine exceptional radiations plus high turnover explain species diversity in jawed vertebrates". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 106 (32): 13410–13414. Bibcode 2009PNAS..10613410A. doi:10.1073/pnas.0811087106. PMC 2715324. PMID 19633192. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=2715324.
4.^ a b Wang, S.C., and Dodson, P. (2006). "Estimating the Diversity of Dinosaurs". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 103 (37): 13601–13605. Bibcode 2006PNAS..10313601W. doi:10.1073/pnas.0606028103. PMC 1564218. PMID 16954187. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=1564218.
5.^ a b Amos J (2008-09-17). "Will the real dinosaurs stand up?". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7620621.stm. Retrieved 2011-03-23.
6.^ a b c d MacLeod, N, Rawson, PF, Forey, PL, Banner, FT, Boudagher-Fadel, MK, Bown, PR, Burnett, JA, Chambers, P, Culver, S, Evans, SE, Jeffery, C, Kaminski, MA, Lord, AR, Milner, AC, Milner, AR, Morris, N, Owen, E, Rosen, BR, Smith, AB, Taylor, PD, Urquhart, E & Young, JR (1997). "The Cretaceous–Tertiary biotic transition". Journal of the Geological Society 154 (2): 265–292. doi:10.1144/gsjgs.154.2.0265. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3721/is_199703/ai_n8738406/print.
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108.^ Prum, Richard O. (April 2003). "Are Current Critiques Of The Theropod Origin Of Birds Science? Rebuttal To Feduccia 2002". The Auk 120 (2): 550–61. doi:10.1642/0004-8038(2003)120[0550:ACCOTT]2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0004-8038. JSTOR 4090212.
109.^ O'Connor, P.M. & Claessens, L.P.A.M. (2005). "Basic avian pulmonary design and flow-through ventilation in non-avian theropod dinosaurs". Nature 436 (7048): 253–256. Bibcode 2005Natur.436..253O. doi:10.1038/nature03716. PMID 16015329.
110.^ Sereno, P.C.; Martinez, RN; Wilson, JA; Varricchio, DJ; Alcober, OA; Larsson, HC; Kemp, Tom (September 2008). Kemp, Tom. ed. "Evidence for Avian Intrathoracic Air Sacs in a New Predatory Dinosaur from Argentina". PLoS ONE 3 (9): e3303. Bibcode 2008PLoSO...3.3303S. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0003303. PMC 2553519. PMID 18825273. http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0003303. Retrieved 2008-10-27.
111.^ "Meat-Eating Dinosaur from Argentina Had Bird-Like Breathing System". http://newswise.com/articles/view/544722/. Retrieved 2011-05-05.
112.^ Xu, X. and Norell, M.A. (2004). "A new troodontid dinosaur from China with avian-like sleeping posture". Nature 431 (7010): 838–841. Bibcode 2004Natur.431..838X. doi:10.1038/nature02898. PMID 15483610.
113.^ Norell M.A., Clark J.M., Chiappe L.M., Dashzeveg D. (1995). "A nesting dinosaur". Nature 378 (6559): 774–776. Bibcode 1995Natur.378..774N. doi:10.1038/378774a0.
114.^ Varricchio, D. J.; Moore, J. R.; Erickson, G. M.; Norell, M. A.; Jackson, F. D.; Borkowski, J. J. (2008). "Avian Paternal Care Had Dinosaur Origin". Science 322 (5909): 1826–8. Bibcode 2008Sci...322.1826V. doi:10.1126/science.1163245. PMID 19095938.
115.^ Wings O (2007). "A review of gastrolith function with implications for fossil vertebrates and a revised classification" (PDF). Palaeontologica Polonica 52 (1): 1–16. http://www.app.pan.pl/archive/published/app52/app52-001.pdf. Retrieved 2011-05-05.
116.^ Dingus, L. and Rowe, T. (1998). The Mistaken Extinction – Dinosaur Evolution and the Origin of Birds. New York: W. H. Freeman.
117.^ Miller KG, Kominz MA, Browning JV, Wright JD, Mountain GS, Katz ME, Sugarman PJ, Cramer BS, Christie-Blick N, Pekar SF (2005). "The Phanerozoic record of global sea-level change". Science 310 (5752): 1293–8. Bibcode 2005Sci...310.1293M. doi:10.1126/science.1116412. PMID 16311326.
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119.^ Paul, Gregory S. (2002). Dinosaurs of the air: the evolution and loss of flight in dinosaurs and birds. Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 397. ISBN 0-8018-6763-0.
120.^ Alvarez, LW, Alvarez, W, Asaro, F, and Michel, HV (1980). "Extraterrestrial cause for the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction". Science 208 (4448): 1095–1108. Bibcode 1980Sci...208.1095A. doi:10.1126/science.208.4448.1095. PMID 17783054.
121.^ Hildebrand, Alan R.; Penfield, Glen T.; Kring, David A.; Pilkington, Mark; Zanoguera, Antonio Camargo; Jacobsen, Stein B.; Boynton, William V. (September 1991). "Chicxulub Crater; a possible Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary impact crater on the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico". Geology 19 (9): 867–871. Bibcode 1991Geo....19..867H. doi:10.1130/0091-7613(1991)019<0867:CCAPCT>2.3.CO;2.
122.^ Pope KO, Ocampo AC, Kinsland GL, Smith R (1996). "Surface expression of the Chicxulub crater". Geology 24 (6): 527–30. Bibcode 1996Geo....24..527P. doi:10.1130/0091-7613(1996)024<0527:SEOTCC>2.3.CO;2. PMID 11539331.
123.^ Robertson, D.S.; et al. (30 September 2003). "Survival in the first hours of the Cenozoic". Geological Society of America Bulletin 116 (5/6): 760–768. doi:10.1130/B25402.1. http://webh01.ua.ac.be/funmorph/raoul/macroevolutie/Robertson2004.pdf. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
124.^ P, Claeys; Goderis, S (2007-09-05). "Solar System: Lethal billiards". Nature 449 (7158): 30–31. Bibcode 2007Natur.449...30C. doi:10.1038/449030a. PMID 17805281.
125.^ Plotner, Tammy (2011). "Did Asteroid Baptistina Kill the Dinosaurs? Think other WISE...". Universe Today. http://www.universetoday.com/89050/did-asteroid-baptistina-kill-the-dinosaurs-think-other-wise/#more-89050. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
126.^ a b edited by Christian Koeberl and Kenneth G. MacLeod. (2002). Catastrophic Events and Mass Extinctions. Geological Society of America. ISBN 0-8137-2356-6. OCLC 213836505.
127.^ a b Hofman, C, Féraud, G & Courtillot, V (2000). "40Ar/39Ar dating of mineral separates and whole rocks from the Western Ghats lava pile: further constraints on duration and age of the Deccan traps". Earth and Planetary Science Letters 180: 13–27. Bibcode 2000E&PSL.180...13H. doi:10.1016/S0012-821X(00)00159-X.
128.^ a b c Duncan, RA & Pyle, DG (1988). "Rapid eruption of the Deccan flood basalts at the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary". Nature 333 (6176): 841–843. Bibcode 1988Natur.333..841D. doi:10.1038/333841a0.
129.^ Alvarez, W (1997). T. rex and the Crater of Doom. Princeton University Press. pp. 130–146. ISBN 978-0-691-01630-6.
130.^ Lloyd, G.T., Davis, K.E., Pisani, D. (22 July 2008). "Dinosaurs and the Cretaceous Terrestrial Revolution". Proceedings of the Royal Society: Biology 275 (1650): 2483–90. doi:10.1098/rspb.2008.0715. PMC 2603200. PMID 18647715. http://journals.royalsociety.org/content/7k63203q852h4006/. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
131.^ Fassett, JE, Lucas, SG, Zielinski, RA, and Budahn, JR; Lucas; Zielinski; Budahn (2001). "Compelling new evidence for Paleocene dinosaurs in the Ojo Alamo Sandstone, San Juan Basin, New Mexico and Colorado, USA" (PDF). Catastrophic events and mass extinctions, Lunar and Planetary Contribution 1053: 45–46. Bibcode 2001caev.conf.3139F. http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/impact2000/pdf/3139.pdf. Retrieved 2007-05-18.
132.^ Sloan, R. E., Rigby, K,. Van Valen, L. M., Gabriel, Diane (1986). "Gradual dinosaur extinction and simultaneous ungulate radiation in the Hell Creek Formation". Science 232 (4750): 629–633. Bibcode 1986Sci...232..629S. doi:10.1126/science.232.4750.629. PMID 17781415.
133.^ a b Fastovsky, David E.; Sheehan, Peter M. (2005). "Reply to comment on "The Extinction of the dinosaurs in North America"" (PDF). GSA Today 15 (7): 11. doi:10.1130/1052-5173(2005)015[11b:RTEOTD]2.0.CO;2. http://www.geosociety.org/gsatoday/archive/15/7/pdf/i1052-5173-15-7-11b.pdf.
134.^ Sullivan, RM (2003). "No Paleocene dinosaurs in the San Juan Basin, New Mexico". Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs 35 (5): 15. http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2003RM/finalprogram/abstract_47695.htm. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
135.^ Fassett J.E., Heaman L.M., Simonetti A. (2011). "Direct U–Pb dating of Cretaceous and Paleocene dinosaur bones, San Juan Basin, New Mexico". Geology 39 (2): 159–162. doi:10.1130/G31466.1.
136.^ Dong Zhiming (1992). Dinosaurian Faunas of China. China Ocean Press, Beijing. ISBN 3-540-52084-8. OCLC 26522845.
137.^ "Dinosaur bones 'used as medicine'". BBC News. 2007-07-06. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6276948.stm. Retrieved 2007-07-06.
138.^ a b Sarjeant WAS (1997). "The earliert discoveries". In Farlow JO, Brett-Surman MK. The Complete Dinosaur. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. pp. 3–11. ISBN 0-253-33349-0.
139.^ Lhuyd, E. (1699). Lithophylacii Britannici Ichnographia, sive lapidium aliorumque fossilium Britannicorum singulari figura insignium. Gleditsch and Weidmann:London.
140.^ Delair, J.B.; Sarjeant, W.A.S. (2002). "The earliest discoveries of dinosaurs: the records re-examined". Proceedings of the Geologists' Association 113 (3): 185–197. doi:10.1016/S0016-7878(02)80022-0.
141.^ Gunther RT (1968). Life and letters of Edward Lhwyd,: Second keeper of the Museum Ashmoleanum (Early science in Oxford Volume XIV). Dawsons of Pall Mall.
142.^ Buckland W (1824). "Notice on the Megalosaurus or great Fossil Lizard of Stonesfield". Transactions of the Geological Society of London 1 (2): 390–396. doi:10.1144/transgslb.1.2.390.
143.^ Mantell, Gideon A. (1825). "Notice on the Iguanodon, a newly discovered fossil reptile, from the sandstone of Tilgate forest, in Sussex". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society 115: 179–186. doi:10.1098/rstl.1825.0010. JSTOR 107739.
144.^ Sues, Hans-Dieter (1997). "European Dinosaur Hunters". In Farlow JO, Brett-Surman MK. The Complete Dinosaur. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. p. 14. ISBN 0-253-33349-0.
145.^ Holmes T (1996). Fossil Feud: The Bone Wars of Cope and Marsh, Pioneers in Dinosaur Science. Silver Burdett Press. ISBN 978-0-382-39147-7. OCLC 34472600.
146.^ Wang, H., Yan, Z. and Jin, D. (1 May 1997). "Reanalysis of published DNA sequence amplified from Cretaceous dinosaur egg fossil". Molecular Biology and Evolution 14 (5): 589–591. PMID 9159936. http://mbe.oupjournals.org/cgi/reprint/14/5/589. Retrieved 2007-12-05.
147.^ Chang BS, Jönsson K, Kazmi MA, Donoghue MJ, Sakmar TP (1 September 2002). "Recreating a Functional Ancestral Archosaur Visual Pigment". Molecular Biology and Evolution 19 (9): 1483–1489. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a004211. PMID 12200476. http://mbe.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/19/9/1483. Retrieved 2007-12-05.
148.^ Schweitzer MH, Marshall M, Carron K, Bohle DS, Busse SC, Arnold EV, Barnard D, Horner JR, Starkey JR (1997). "Heme compounds in dinosaur trabecular bone". Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 94 (12): 6291–6. Bibcode 1997PNAS...94.6291S. doi:10.1073/pnas.94.12.6291. PMC 21042. PMID 9177210. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=21042.
149.^ Embery G, Milner AC, Waddington RJ, Hall RC, Langley MS, Milan AM (2003). "Identification of proteinaceous material in the bone of the dinosaur Iguanodon". Connect Tissue Res 44 (Suppl 1): 41–6. doi:10.1080/713713598. PMID 12952172.
150.^ "Dinosaur – Definition and More". Merriam-Webster Dictionary. http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/dinosaur. Retrieved 2011-05-06.
151.^ Torrens, H.S. (1993). "The dinosaurs and dinomania over 150 years". Modern Geology 18 (2): 257–286.
152.^ Breithaupt, Brent H. (1997). "First golden period in the USA". In Currie, Philip J. and Padian, Kevin (eds.). The Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs. San Diego: Academic Press. pp. 347–350. ISBN 978-0-12-226810-6.
153.^ "London. Michaelmas term lately over, and the Lord Chancellor sitting in Lincoln's Inn Hall. Implacable November weather. As much mud in the streets, as if the waters had but newly retired from the face of the earth, and it would not be wonderful to meet a Megalosaurus, forty feet long or so, waddling like an elephantine lizard up Holborne Hill." Dickens CJH (1852). Bleak House. London: Bradbury & Evans. p. 1.
154.^ Glut, D.F., and Brett-Surman, M.K. (1997). Farlow, James O. and Brett-Surman, Michael K. (eds.). ed. The Complete Dinosaur. Indiana University Press. pp. 675–697. ISBN 978-0-253-21313-6.
[edit] Further readingBakker, Robert T. (1986). The Dinosaur Heresies: New Theories Unlocking the Mystery of the Dinosaurs and Their Extinction. New York: Morrow. ISBN 0-688-04287-2.
Holtz, Thomas R. Jr. (2007). Dinosaurs: The Most Complete, Up-to-Date Encyclopedia for Dinosaur Lovers of All Ages. New York: Random House. ISBN 978-0-375-82419-7.
Paul, Gregory S. (2000). The Scientific American Book of Dinosaurs. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-26226-4.
Paul, Gregory S. (2002). Dinosaurs of the Air: The Evolution and Loss of Flight in Dinosaurs and Birds. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-6763-0.
[edit] External links Look up dinosaur in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

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[hide]v ·t ·eArchosauromorphs

Kingdom: Animalia · Phylum: Chordata · Class: Sauropsida · Subclass: Diapsida

Primitive
Archosauromorphs Choristodera • Prolacertiformes • Rhynchosauria • Trilophosauria

Primitive
Archosauriforms Doswelliidae • Euparkeriidae • Erythrosuchidae • Proterochampsidae • Proterosuchidae • Vancleavea

Crurotarsi Archosaurs Ornithosuchidae • Aetosauria • Phytosauria • Rauisuchia • Crocodylomorpha • Crocodilia

Avemetatarsalia and
Ornithodira Archosaurs Scleromochlus • Pterosauria • Dinosauromorpha • Dinosauria • Ornithischia • Saurischia • Aves

Avian Archosaurs Avialae • Archaeopteryx • Confuciusornis • Ichthyornis • Enantiornithes • Hesperornithes • Neornithes • Palaeognathae • Neognathae

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Same-sex marriage

2012-03-19T22:18:47Z

Conservatives:

Same-sex marriage From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to: navigation, search Legal recognition of
same-sex relationships
[hide]Marriage
Argentina
Belgium
Canada
Iceland
Netherlands

Norway
Portugal
South Africa
Spain
Sweden

Performed in some jurisdictions
Brazil: AL
Mexico: Mexico City
United States: CT, DC, IA, MA, NH, NY, VT, Coquille, Suquamish

Recognized, not performed
Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten (Netherlands only)
Israel
Mexico: all states (Mexico City only)
United States: CA (conditional), MD

[show]Civil unions and
registered partnerships
Andorra
Austria
Brazil
Colombia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Ecuador
Finland
France
- New Caledonia
- Wallis and Futuna
Germany

Greenland
Hungary
Ireland
Isle of Man
Jersey
Liechtenstein
Luxembourg
New Zealand
Slovenia
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United Kingdom
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Performed in some jurisdictions

Australia: ACT, NSW, QLD, TAS, VIC
Mexico: COA
United States: CA, CO, DE, HI, IL, ME, NJ, NV, OR, RI, WA, WI

[show]Unregistered cohabitation
Australia
Croatia

Israel
Italy

Recognized in some jurisdictions

United States: MD

[show]See also
Same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage legislation
Timeline of same-sex marriage
Recognition of same-sex unions in Europe
Marriage privatization
Civil union
Domestic partnership
Military policy
Listings by country

LGBT portal
v ·t ·e

Same-sex marriage (also known as gay marriage) is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or gender identity. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality.[1]

Since 2001, ten countries have begun allowing same-sex couples to marry nationwide: Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, South Africa, and Sweden. Same-sex marriages are also performed and recognized in the Brazilian state of Alagoas,[2] Mexico City and parts of the United States. Some jurisdictions that do not perform same-sex marriages recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere: Israel, the Caribbean countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, parts of the United States, and all states of Brazil and Mexico. Australia recognises same-sex marriages only by one partner changing their sex after marriage.[3] As of 2012, proposals exist to introduce same-sex marriage in at least ten other countries.

The introduction of same-sex marriage has varied by jurisdiction, resulting from legislative changes to marriage laws, court challenges based on constitutional guarantees of equality, or a combination of the two. In some countries, allowing same-sex couples to marry replaced a previous system of civil unions or registered partnerships.

The recognition of such marriages is a civil rights, political, social, moral, and religious issue in many nations. Conflicts arise over whether same-sex couples should be allowed to enter into marriage, be required to use a different status (such as a civil union, which either grant equal rights as marriage or limited rights in comparison to marriage), or not have any such rights. A related issue is whether the term marriage should be applied.[4][5][6]

One argument in support of same-sex marriage is that denying same-sex couples legal access to marriage and all of its attendant benefits represents discrimination based on sexual orientation; several American scientific bodies agree with this assertion.[7][8][9][10] Another argument in support of same-sex marriage is the assertion that financial, psychological and physical well-being are enhanced by marriage, and that children of same-sex couples benefit from being raised by two parents within a legally recognized union supported by society's institutions.[11][12][13] Court documents filed by American scientific associations also state that singling out gay men and women as ineligible for marriage both stigmatizes and invites public discrimination against them.[14] The American Anthropological Association avers that social science research does not support the view that either civilization or viable social orders depend upon not recognizing same-sex marriage.[15] Other arguments for same-sex marriage are based upon what is regarded as a universal human rights issue, mental and physical health concerns, equality before the law,[16] and the goal of normalizing LGBT relationships.[17][18][19] Al Sharpton and several other authors attribute opposition to same-sex marriage as coming from homophobia[20][21][22][23] or heterosexism and liken prohibitions on same-sex marriage to past prohibitions on interracial marriage.[24]

One argument against same-sex marriage arises from a rejection of the use of the word "marriage" as applied to same-sex couples,[25] as well as objections about the legal and social status of marriage itself being applied to same-sex partners under any terminology. Other stated arguments include direct and indirect social consequences of same-sex marriages, parenting concerns,[26][27] religious grounds,[28][29] and tradition.

Contents [hide]
1 Terminology
1.1 Definitions of marriage
1.2 Terms for same-sex marriage
2 History
2.1 Ancient
2.2 Modern
3 Current status
3.1 Legal recognition
3.1.1 Argentina
3.1.2 Belgium
3.1.3 Brazil
3.1.4 Canada
3.1.5 Iceland
3.1.6 Israel
3.1.7 Mexico
3.1.8 The Netherlands
3.1.9 Norway
3.1.10 Portugal
3.1.11 South Africa
3.1.12 Spain
3.1.13 Sweden
3.1.14 United States
3.2 Subject debated
3.2.1 Australia
3.2.2 Colombia
3.2.3 Denmark
3.2.4 Finland
3.2.5 France
3.2.6 Germany
3.2.7 Luxembourg
3.2.8 Nepal
3.2.9 New Zealand
3.2.10 Nigeria
3.2.11 United Kingdom
3.3 International organizations
4 Other legally recognized same-sex unions
5 Transgender and intersex persons
6 Effects of same-sex marriage
6.1 Health issues
6.2 Legal issues
6.3 Fictional same-sex marriage
7 Controversy and opposition
7.1 Judicial and legislative
7.2 Religion
7.3 Children and the family
7.4 Education controversy
8 See also
8.1 Religion
8.2 U.S. specific
8.3 Historical
8.4 Documentaries and literature
9 Footnotes
10 Bibliography
11 External links

[edit] Terminology
LGBT flag[edit] Definitions of marriageSee also: Marriage - Definitions
Anthropologists have struggled to determine a definition of marriage that absorbs commonalities of the social construct across cultures around the world.[30][31] Many proposed definitions have been criticized for failing to recognize the existence of same-sex marriage in some cultures, including in more than 30 African cultures, such as the Kikuyu and Nuer.[31][32][33]

With several countries revising their marriage laws to recognize same-sex couples in the 21st century, all major English dictionaries have revised their definition of the word marriage to either drop gender specifications or supplement them with secondary definitions to include gender-neutral language or explicit recognition of same-sex unions.[34][35] The Oxford English Dictionary has recognized same-sex marriage since 2000.[36]

Alan Dershowitz and others have suggested reserving the word marriage for religious contexts as part of privatizing marriage, and in civil and legal contexts using a uniform concept of civil unions, in part to strengthen the separation between church and state.[37] Jennifer Roback Morse, the president of the anti-same-sex marriage group National Organization for Marriage's Ruth Institute project,[38] claims that the conflation of marriage with contractual agreements is a threat to marriage.[39]

[edit] Terms for same-sex marriageSome proponents of legal recognition of same-sex marriage, such as Freedom to Marry and Canadians for Equal Marriage, use the terms marriage equality and equal marriage to indicate that they seek equal benefit of marriage laws as opposed to special rights.[40][41]

Opponents of same-sex marriage such as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and the Southern Baptist Convention use the term traditional marriage to mean marriages between one man and one woman.[42][43][44] Anti-same-sex-marriage activist Maggie Gallagher argues that equating same-sex and opposite-sex marriages changes the meaning of marriage and its traditions.[45]

Some publications that oppose same-sex marriage, such as WorldNetDaily and Baptist Press, have an editorial style policy of placing the word marriage in scare quotes ("marriage") when it is used in reference to same-sex couples. In the United States, the mainstream press has generally abandoned this practice.[46] Cliff Kincaid of the conservative Accuracy in Media argues for use of quotation marks on the grounds that marriage is a legal status denied same-sex couples by most state governments.[47] Same-sex marriage supporters argue that the use of scare quotes is an editorialization that implies illegitimacy.[48]

Associated Press style recommends the usages marriage for gays and lesbians or in space-limited headlines gay marriage with no hyphen and no scare quotes. The Associated Press warns that the construct gay marriage can imply that marriages of gay and lesbian couples are somehow legally different from those of opposite-sex couples.[citation needed]

Same-sex marriage also can be described with the term "homogamous marriage",[49] in the scientific tradition of Greek and Latin terms for family type.

[edit] HistoryMain articles: History of same-sex unions and Timeline of same-sex marriage
[edit] AncientVarious types of same-sex marriages have existed,[50] ranging from informal, unsanctioned relationships to highly ritualized unions.[51]

In the southern Chinese province of Fujian, through the Ming dynasty period, females would bind themselves in contracts to younger females in elaborate ceremonies.[52] Males also entered similar arrangements. This type of arrangement was also similar in ancient European history.[53]

An example of egalitarian male domestic partnership from the early Zhou Dynasty period of China is recorded in the story of Pan Zhang & Wang Zhongxian. While the relationship was clearly approved by the wider community, and was compared to heterosexual marriage, it did not involve a religious ceremony binding the couple.[54]

The first historical mention of the performance of same-sex marriages occurred during the early Roman Empire.[55] For instance, Emperor Nero is reported to have engaged in a marriage ceremony with one of his male slaves. Emperor Elagabalus "married" a Carian slave named Hierocles.[56] It should be noted, however, that conubium existed only between a civis Romanus and a civis Romana (that is, between a male Roman citizen and a female Roman citizen), so that a so-called marriage between two Roman males (or with a slave) would have no legal standing in Roman law (apart, presumably, from the arbitrary will of the emperor in the two aforementioned cases).[57] Furthermore, "matrimonium is an institution involving a mother, mater. The idea implicit in the word is that a man takes a woman in marriage, in matrimonium ducere, so that he may have children by her."[58] Still, the lack of legal validity notwithstanding, there is a consensus among modern historians that same-sex relationships existed in ancient Rome, but the exact frequency and nature of "same-sex unions" during that period is obscure.[59] In 342 AD Christian emperors Constantius II and Constans issued a law in the Theodosian Code (C. Th. 9.7.3) prohibiting same-sex marriage in Rome and ordering execution for those so married.[60]

A same-sex marriage between the two men Pedro Díaz and Muño Vandilaz in the Galician municipality of Rairiz de Veiga in Spain occurred on April 16, 1061. They were married by a priest at a small chapel. The historic documents about the church wedding were found at Monastery of San Salvador de Celanova.[61]

[edit] ModernIn 2001, the Netherlands became the first nation in the world to grant same-sex marriages.[62] Same-sex marriages are also granted and mutually recognized by Belgium (2003),[63] Spain (2005), Canada (2005), South Africa (2006), Norway (2009), Sweden (2009), Portugal (2010),[64] Iceland (2010) and Argentina (2010). In Mexico same sex marriage is recognized in all 31 states but only performed in Mexico City. In Nepal, their recognition has been judicially mandated but not yet legislated.[65] 250 million people (or 4% of the world population) live in areas that recognise same-sex marriage.[66]

[edit] Current statusMain articles: Status of same-sex marriage and Same-sex marriage legislation around the world

Same-sex relationships legal
Same-sex marriage
Other type of partnership (or unregistered cohabitation)
Same-sex marriage recognized, but not performed
Homosexuality legal but same-sex unions not recognized Same-sex relationships illegal
Minimal penalty
Large penalty
Life in prison
Death penalty

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v ·t ·e[edit] Legal recognitionSame-sex marriage is legally recognized nationwide in Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, and Sweden. In the United States, same-sex marriages are not recognized federally, though same-sex couples can marry in six of the fifty states and one district. In Mexico, same-sex marriages are only performed in Mexico City, but these marriages are recognized by all Mexican states and by the Mexican federal government.[67] Israel does not recognize same-sex marriages performed on its territory, but recognizes same-sex marriages performed in foreign jurisdictions. In Brazil, the state of Alagoas performs same-sex marriages. Also, in other states, a same-sex couple may convert their civil union into marriage with the approval of a state judge. If approved, that marriage is recognized in all the national territory.[68]

[edit] ArgentinaMain article: Same-sex marriage in Argentina
On July 15, 2010, the Argentine Senate approved a bill extending marriage rights to same-sex couples. It was supported by the Government of President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and opposed by the Catholic Church.[69] Polls showed that nearly 70% of Argentines supported giving gay people the same marital rights as heterosexuals.[70]

[edit] BelgiumMain article: Same-sex marriage in Belgium
Belgium became the second country in the world to legally recognize same-sex marriages on June 1, 2003, with the coming into force of a bill passed by the Belgian Federal Parliament. Originally, Belgium allowed the marriages of foreign same-sex couples only if their country of origin also allowed these unions, however legislation enacted in October 2004 permits any couple to marry if at least one of the spouses has lived in the country for a minimum of three months. A 2006 law enabled legal adoption by same-sex spouses.

[edit] BrazilMain article: Same-sex marriage in Brazil
Brazil's Supreme Court ruled in May 2011 that same-sex couples are legally entitled to civil unions, stopping short of same-sex marriage.[71] On the 6th of January 2012, a judge in the Brazilian state of Alagoas ruled that same-sex marriages will be performed[2][72] in the state instead[73] of the civil unions, making this the first state in Brazil to grant the married status to gay couples in such a broad way. Marriages performed in this state will then be recognized throughout the whole country.[74][75]

[edit] CanadaMain article: Same-sex marriage in Canada
Legal recognition of same-sex marriage in Canada followed a series of constitutional challenges based on the equality provisions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In the first such case, Halpern v. Canada (Attorney General), same-sex marriage ceremonies performed in Ontario on January 14, 2001 were subsequently validated when the common law, opposite-sex definition of marriage was held to be unconstitutional. Similar rulings had legalized same-sex marriage in eight provinces and one territory when the 2005 Civil Marriage Act defined marriage throughout Canada as "the lawful union of two persons to the exclusion of all others."

[edit] IcelandMain article: Same-sex marriage in Iceland
Same-sex marriage was introduced in Iceland through legislation establishing a gender-neutral definition of marriage introduced by the coalition government of the Social Democratic Alliance and Left-Green Movement. The legislation was passed unanimously by the Icelandic Althing on June 11, 2010, and took effect on June 27, 2010, replacing an earlier system of registered partnerships for same-sex couples.[76][77] Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir and her partner were among first married same-sex couples in the country.[78]

[edit] IsraelMain article: Same-sex marriage in Israel
Israel's High Court of Justice ruled to honor same-sex marriages granted in other countries even though Israel does not recognize such marriages performed under its own jurisdiction. A bill was raised in the Knesset (parliament) to rescind the High Court's ruling, but the Knesset has not advanced the bill since December 2006.

[edit] MexicoMain article: Same-sex marriage in Mexico City
On December 21, 2009, the Federal District's Legislative Assembly legalized same-sex marriages and adoption by same-sex couples. The law was enacted eight days later and became effective in early March 2010.[79] On August 10, 2010, the Mexican Supreme Court ruled that while not every state must grant same-sex marriages, they must all recognize those performed where they are legal.[80]

Main article: Same-sex marriage in Quintana Roo
In January 2012 some local jurisdictions such as Cancún in Quintana Roo state began to marry gay couples. The public officials cited the fact that the state's civil code does not state sex or gender requirements for marriage and that there is therefore nothing prohibiting the nuptials, in addition to the fact that gay marriages are recognized at the federal level. The practice was suspended in late January 2012 pending legal review by the Quintanarooan secretary of state Lois Gonzalez Flores.

[edit] The NetherlandsMain article: Same-sex marriage in the Netherlands
The Netherlands was the first country to extend marriage laws to include same-sex couples, following the recommendation of a special commission appointed to investigate the issue in 1995. A same-sex marriage bill passed the House of Representatives and the Senate in 2000, taking effect on April 1, 2001.[81]

In the Netherlands' Caribbean special municipalities of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, marriage is presently restricted to heterosexual couples,[82] however a law enabling same-sex couples to marry has been passed and is planned to come into effect by 10 October 2012.[83] The Caribbean countries Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten, forming the remainder of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, do not perform same-sex marriages, but must recognize those performed in the European territory of the Netherlands.

[edit] NorwayMain article: Same-sex marriage in Norway
Same-sex marriage became legal in Norway on January 1, 2009 when a gender neutral marriage bill was enacted after being passed by the Norwegian legislature in June 2008.[84][85] Norway became the first Scandinavian country and the sixth country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage.

Gender neutral marriage replaced Norway's previous system of registered partnerships for same-sex couples. Couples in registered partnerships are able to retain that status or convert their registered partnership to a marriage. No new registered partnerships may be created.

[edit] PortugalMain article: Same-sex marriage in Portugal
On January 8, 2010, the parliament approved, with 126 votes in favor, 97 against and 7 abstentions, same-sex marriage. The President promulgated the law on April 8, same-sex marriage become legal since June 5, 2010, thus Portugal became the eighth country to conduct nationwide same-sex marriage.

[edit] South AfricaMain article: Same-sex marriage in South Africa
Legal recognition of same-sex marriages in South Africa came about as a result of the Constitutional Court's decision in the case of Minister of Home Affairs v Fourie. The court ruled on 1 December 2005 that the existing marriage laws violated the equality clause of the Bill of Rights because they discriminated on the basis of sexual orientation. The court gave Parliament one year to rectify the inequality. The Civil Union Act was passed by the National Assembly on 14 November 2006, by a vote of 230 to 41, and it came into force on 30 November 2006. South Africa is the fifth country, the first in Africa, and the second outside Europe, to legalize same-sex marriage.

[edit] SpainMain article: Same-sex marriage in Spain
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Spain since July 3, 2005. In 2004, the nation's newly elected Socialist government, led by President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, began a campaign for its legalization, including the right of adoption by same-sex couples.[86] After much debate, a law permitting same-sex marriage was passed by the Cortes Generales (Spain's bicameral parliament, composed of the Senate and the Congress of Deputies) on 30 June 2005 and published on 2 July 2005. Same-sex marriage became legal in Spain on Sunday, 3 July 2005,[87] making it the third country in the world to do so, after the Netherlands and Belgium.

[edit] SwedenMain article: Same-sex marriage in Sweden
Same-sex marriage in Sweden has been legal since 1 May 2009, following the adoption of a new, gender-neutral law on marriage by the Swedish parliament on 1 April 2009,[88] making Sweden the seventh country in the world to open marriage to same sex couples nationwide. Marriage replaced Sweden's registered partnerships for same-sex couples. Existing registered partnerships between same-sex couples remained in force with an option to convert them into marriages.

[edit] United StatesMain article: Same-sex marriage in the United States
In the United States, although same-sex marriages are not recognized federally, same-sex couples can legally marry in six states (Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont) and the District of Columbia and receive state-level benefits.[89][90] Same-sex marriage laws have also passed in Washington and Maryland, but they are not yet in effect.[91][92] The states of New Jersey, Maryland, and Rhode Island do not facilitate same-sex marriages, but do recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions, as does California in some cases, in particular those established when the state briefly allowed same-sex marriage in 2008. Additionally, several states offer civil unions or domestic partnerships, granting all or part of the state-level rights and responsibilities of marriage.[93][94] Thirty-one states have constitutional restrictions limiting marriage to one woman and one man.[95]

In 1996, the United States Congress passed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) defining marriage solely as a union between a man and a woman for all federal purposes and allowing for the non-recognition amongst the states.[96]

A 2005 federal district court decision, Citizens for Equal Protection v. Bruning, holding that prohibiting recognition of same-sex relationships violated the Constitution was overturned on appeal by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in 2006, which ruled that "laws limiting the state-recognized institution of marriage to heterosexual couples ... do not violate the Constitution of the United States."

In 2006, the Supreme Court of the State of Washington concluded that encouraging procreation within the framework of marriage can be seen as a legitimate government interest furthered by limiting marriage between opposite-sex couples.[97]

In 2010, United States District Court for the Northern District of California stated the evidence did not show any historical purpose for excluding same-sex couples from marriage, as states have never required spouses to have an ability or willingness to procreate in order to marry. [98]

In July 2010, a federal court held key provisions of DOMA unconstitutional;[99][100] the Department of Justice entered an appeal on October 12, 2010.[101] President Barack Obama is officially opposed to same-sex marriage,[102] although he "supports full civil unions and federal rights for LGBT couples",[103] a full repeal of DOMA,[104] and called California's Proposition 8 outlawing same-sex marriage in 2008 "unnecessary".[105] In February 2011, President Obama concluded that DOMA was unconstitutional and directed the US Justice Department to stop defending the law in court.[106] Subsequently, Eric Cantor, Republican majority leader in the US House of Representatives announced that the House would defend DOMA; however, the law firm hired to represent the House soon withdrew from the representation, requiring the House to retain replacement counsel.[107]

Over the past two decades, public support of same-sex marriage in the United States has been steadily increasing. Polls conducted in 2011 indicate that a slight majority of Americans support same-sex marriage.[108][109][110]

[edit] Subject debated[edit] AustraliaMain article: Same-sex marriage in Australia
Australia currently bans recognition of same-sex marriages, although as of 2011 the federal Labor Party government officially changed its position to allow a conscience vote on same-sex marriage.[111] The Liberal Party is opposed to same-sex marriage and its leader Tony Abbott said he will block a conscience vote on the issue.[112]

In February 2010, the Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young's Marriage Equality Bill was rejected by the Senate.[113] Senator Hanson-Young re-introduced the bill to the Senate in September 2010. The bill will sit on a notice paper until the major parties agree to a conscience vote on it.[114] A Greens motion urging federal MPs to gauge community support for gay marriage was passed by the House of Representatives on 18 November 2010.[115]

The Australian Capital Territory is the first jurisdiction in Australia to legalise civil partnerships ceremonies for gay couples. However, they are not recognised in Australian jurisdictions outside of that territory. Registered partnerships are available in New South Wales, Tasmania, Queensland and Victoria. From 1 July 2009 Centrelink recognised same-sex couples equally regarding social security – under the common-law marriage, de facto status or unregistered cohabitation.[116] In September 2010 Tasmania became the first Australian state to recognise same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions.[117]

[edit] ColombiaMain article: Recognition of same-sex unions in Colombia
On Tuesday July 26, 2011, The Constitutional Court of Colombia ordered the Colombian Congress to legislate on the matter of same-sex marriage and that if they fail to, same-sex couples will be granted all marriage rights in two years (on June 20, 2013) automatically.[118]

[edit] DenmarkIn October 2011 Manu Sareen, Minister for Equality and Church Affairs in the new Danish government, announced the government is seeking to legalize same-sex marriage by spring 2012. The bill for the new marriage law is to be introduced around New Year.[119]

[edit] FinlandMain article: Same-sex marriage in Finland
Finland may legalize same-sex marriage after the 2011 parliamentary elections; then-Minister of Justice Tuija Brax said her Ministry was preparing a reform to amend the Marriage Act towards gay marriage by 2012.[120]

[edit] FranceMain article: Same-sex marriage in France
In France in 2006, a 30-member non-quorum parliamentary commission of the French National Assembly published a 453-page Report on the Family and the Rights of Children, which rejected same-sex marriages.[121] Also, the French National Assembly voted against same-sex marriage on June 15, 2011.

[edit] GermanyMain article: Same-sex marriage in Germany
As of June, 2011, Germany will face a vote on same-sex marriage. The issue was opened by the senate of the city-state of Hamburg, and will be voted on in the Federal Bundesrat.

[edit] LuxembourgMain article: Same-sex marriage in Luxembourg
The current government of Luxembourg intends to legalize same-sex marriage.[122]

[edit] NepalIn November 2008, Nepal's highest court issued final judgment on matters related to LGBT rights, which included approving gay marriage. Based on the court recommendation the government announced its intention to introduce a same-sex marriage bill by 2010.[123][124][125][126][127] Same-sex marriage and protection for sexual minorities will be included in the new Nepalese constitution currently being drafted[128][129] and due to be completed by May 31, 2012.[130]

[edit] New ZealandNew Zealand's Marriage Act 1955 recognizes marriage rights only for opposite-sex couples. New Zealand's Parliament rejected a bill that would have prohibited the recognition of same-sex marriage in New Zealand in December 2005. The marriage laws consider transsexuals who have undergone reassignment surgery as having changed sex for legal purposes, following Family Court and High Court of New Zealand decisions in 1995. However the 2005 Civil Union Act allows same-sex and opposite sex couples to have a 'civil union' which under the law is identical to a marriage, with the exception that same-sex couples cannot jointly apply to adopt.

[edit] NigeriaIn 2006, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo introduced legislation that prohibits same-sex marriages and criminalizes anyone who "performs, witnesses, aids or abets" such ceremonies.[131] Among the Igbo people of Nigeria, there are circumstances where a marriage between two women is allowed, such as when a woman has no child and the husband dies.[132]

[edit] United KingdomMain article: Same-sex marriage in the United Kingdom
Same-sex marriage is currently prohibited although since 2005, same-sex couples are allowed to enter into civil partnerships, a separate union which provides the legal consequences of marriage. In 2006 the High Court rejected a legal bid by a British lesbian couple who had married in Canada to have their union recognised as a marriage in the UK and not as a civil partnership. In February 2011 the UK government expressed its intention to begin a consultation to allow both religious same-sex ceremonies and civil marriage for same-sex couples in England and Wales.[133] In September 2011, the Government announced its intention to introduce same-sex civil marriage by the next general election.[134]

It falls to the Scottish Government to handle marital legislation north of the Border. A 14 week Consultation ended on 9 December 2011 with an analysis to be published in the spring of 2012. [135] Unlike the Consultation due to be held in England and Wales, the Consultation in Scotland considered both civil and religious same sex marriage. Whilst the Scottish Government is in favor of same-sex marriage, it stated that no religious body would be forced to hold such ceremonies should legislation be enacted.[136]

[edit] International organizationsThe terms of employment of the staff of international organizations (not commercial) in most cases are not governed by the laws of the country where their offices are located. Agreements with the host country safeguard these organizations' impartiality.

Despite their relative independence, few organizations recognize same-sex partnerships without condition. The agencies of the United Nations recognize same-sex marriages if and only if the country of citizenship of the employees in question recognizes the marriage.[137] In some cases, these organizations do offer a limited selection of the benefits normally provided to opposite-sex married couples to de facto partners or domestic partners of their staff, but even individuals who have entered into an opposite-sex civil union in their home country are not guaranteed full recognition of this union in all organizations. However, the World Bank does recognize domestic partners.[138]

[edit] Other legally recognized same-sex unionsMain article: Civil union

Many advocates, such as this protester at a demonstration in New York City against California Proposition 8, reject the notion of civil unions.[139] U.S. Same-sex marriage movement activist Evan Wolfson does not feel civil unions are a replacement for full marriage equality.[140]Civil union, civil partnership, domestic partnership, registered partnership, unregistered partnership, and unregistered cohabitation statuses offer varying legal benefits of marriage and are available to same-sex couples in: Andorra, Australia, Brazil, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Slovenia, Switzerland, United Kingdom and Uruguay.[141][142]

They are also available in parts of Mexico (Coahuila and Mexico City) and the United States (California, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, New Jersey, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, Washington and federal District of Columbia).[143][144] In some countries with these legal recognitions, the actual benefits are minimal. Many people consider civil unions, even those that grant equal rights, inadequate because they create a separate status, and believe they should be replaced by gender-neutral marriage.[145]

[edit] Transgender and intersex personsSee also: Transsexualism, Legal aspects of transsexualism, and Gender identity
When sex is defined legally, it may be defined by any one of several criteria: the XY sex-determination system, the type of gonads, the type of external sexual features, or the person's social identification. Consequently, both transsexuals and intersexed individuals may be legally categorized into confusing gray areas, and could be prohibited from marrying partners of the "opposite" sex or permitted to marry partners of the "same" sex due to legal distinctions. This could result in long-term marriages, as well as recent same-sex marriages, being overturned.

The problems of defining gender by the existence/non-existence of gonads or certain sexual features is complicated by the existence of surgical methods to alter these features. Estimates[146] run as high as 1 percent of live births exhibiting some degree of sexual ambiguity, and between 0.1% and 0.2% of live births being ambiguous enough to become the subject of specialist medical attention, including sometimes involuntary surgery to address their sexual ambiguity.[147]

In any legal jurisdiction where marriages are defined without distinction of a requirement of a male and female, these complications do not occur. In addition, some legal jurisdictions recognize a legal and official change of gender, which would allow a transsexual to be legally married in accordance with an adopted gender identity.[148]

In the United Kingdom, the Gender Recognition Act 2004 allows a person who has lived in their chosen gender for at least two years to receive a gender recognition certificate officially recognizing their new gender. Because in the UK marriages are for mixed-sex couples and civil partnerships are for same-sex couples, a person must dissolve his/her marriage or civil partnership before obtaining a gender recognition certificate. Such persons are then free to enter or re-enter civil partnerships or marriages in accordance with their newly recognized gender identity. In Austria, a similar provision requiring transsexual persons to divorce before having their legal sex marker corrected was found to be unconstitutional in 2006.[149]

In Quebec prior to the legalization of same-sex marriage, only unmarried persons could apply for legal change of gender. With the advent of same-sex marriage, this restriction was dropped.

In the United States, transsexual and intersexual marriages typically run into the complications detailed above. As definitions and enforcement of marriage are defined by the states, these complications vary from state to state.[150]

[edit] Effects of same-sex marriageThe American Psychological Association stated in 2004:[7]

The institution of civil marriage confers a social status and important legal benefits, rights, and privileges. ... Same-sex couples are denied equal access to civil marriage. ... Same-sex couples who enter into a civil union are denied equal access to all the benefits, rights, and privileges provided by federal law to married couples ... The benefits, rights, and privileges associated with domestic partnerships are not universally available, are not equal to those associated with marriage, and are rarely portable ... Denial of access to marriage to same-sex couples may especially harm people who also experience discrimination based on age, race, ethnicity, disability, gender and gender identity, religion, and socioeconomic status ... the APA believes that it is unfair and discriminatory to deny same-sex couples legal access to civil marriage and to all its attendant benefits, rights, and privileges.

The American Sociological Association stated in 2004:[10]

... a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman intentionally discriminates against lesbians and gay men as well as their children and other dependents by denying access to the protections, benefits, and responsibilities extended automatically to married couples ... we believe that the official justification for the proposed constitutional amendment is based on prejudice rather than empirical research ... the American Sociological Association strongly opposes the proposed constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman.

The Canadian Psychological Association stated in 2006:[12]

The literature (including the literature on which opponents to marriage of same-sex couples appear to rely) indicates that parents' financial, psychological and physical well-being is enhanced by marriage and that children benefit from being raised by two parents within a legally-recognized union. As the CPA stated in 2003, the stressors encountered by gay and lesbian parents and their children are more likely the result of the way society treats them than because of any deficiencies in fitness to parent. The CPA recognizes and appreciates that persons and institutions are entitled to their opinions and positions on this issue. However, CPA is concerned that some are mis-interpreting the findings of psychological research to support their positions, when their positions are more accurately based on other systems of belief or values. CPA asserts that children stand to benefit from the well-being that results when their parents' relationship is recognized and supported by society's institutions.

The American Anthropological Association stated in 2005:[15]

The results of more than a century of anthropological research on households, kinship relationships, and families, across cultures and through time, provide no support whatsoever for the view that either civilization or viable social orders depend upon marriage as an exclusively heterosexual institution. Rather, anthropological research supports the conclusion that a vast array of family types, including families built upon same-sex partnerships, can contribute to stable and humane societies.

The United Kingdom's Royal College of Psychiatrists has stated the following. The statement uses the term "civil partnership" and not gay marriage.[151]

... lesbian, gay and bisexual people are and should be regarded as valued members of society who have exactly similar [sic] rights and responsibilities as all other citizens. This includes ... the rights and responsibilities involved in a civil partnership ...

[edit] Health issuesRecently, several psychological studies[152][153][154] have shown that an increase in exposure to negative conversations and media messages about same-sex marriage creates a harmful environment for the LGBT population that may affect their health and well-being.

In 2010, a Mailman School of Public Health study examining the effects of institutional discrimination on the psychiatric health of lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) individuals found an increase in psychiatric disorders, including a more than doubling of anxiety disorders, among the LGB population living in states that instituted bans on same-sex marriage. According to the author the study highlighted the importance of abolishing institutional forms of discrimination, including those leading to disparities in the mental health and well-being of LGB individuals. Institutional discrimination is characterized by societal-level conditions that limit the opportunities and access to resources by socially disadvantaged groups.[155][156]

Gay activist Jonathan Rauch has argued that marriage is good for all men, whether homosexual or heterosexual, because engaging in its social roles reduces men's aggression and promiscuity.[157][158] The data of current psychological and other social science studies on same-sex marriage in comparison to opposite-sex marriage indicate that same-sex and opposite-sex relationships do not differ in their essential psychosocial dimensions; that a parent's sexual orientation is unrelated to their ability to provide a healthy and nurturing family environment; and that marriage bestows substantial psychological, social, and health benefits. Same-sex couples and their children are likely to benefit in numerous ways from legal recognition of their families, and providing such recognition through marriage will bestow greater benefit than civil unions or domestic partnerships.[159][160]

In 2009, a pair of economists at Emory University tied the passage of state bans on same-sex marriage in the US to an increase in the rates of HIV infection.[161][162] The study linked the passage of a same-sex marriage ban in a state to an increase in the annual HIV rate within that state of roughly 4 cases per 100,000 population.[163]

[edit] Legal issuesMain article: Divorce of same-sex couples
[edit] Fictional same-sex marriageSame-sex marriages and relationships have been a theme in several fictional story arcs, mythology, cult classics, and video games. Same-sex marriage is possible in the video games Fable II,[164] The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim,[165] Fallout 2 [166] and The Sims 3[167]

While there is very little mention of homosexuality in the official works of the Star Trek franchise, the independent fan series Star Trek: Hidden Frontier featured a same-sex marriage ceremony in the series finale.[168]

Caprica, a spin-off series within the Battlestar Galactica saga and primary setting of the series is fairly liberal in regards to homosexual relationships and polygamy. Sam Adama, a prominent character in the series is married to another man.[169] Clarice Willow, another major character has several wives, as well as husbands, in her polygamous marriage.

[edit] Controversy and opposition This section may stray from the topic of the article. Please help improve this section or discuss this issue on the talk page. (February 2012)

See also: LGBT rights opposition
While few societies have recognized same-sex unions as marriages, the historical and anthropological record reveals a large range of attitudes towards same-sex unions ranging from praise, to sympathetic toleration, to indifference, to prohibition. Opponents of same-sex marriages have argued that recognition of same-sex marriages would erode religious freedoms,[170] and that same-sex marriage, while doing good for the couples that participate in them and the children they are raising, undermines a right of children to be raised by their biological mother and father.[171]

Some supporters of same-sex marriages take the view that the government should have no role in regulating personal relationships,[172] while others argue that same-sex marriages would provide social benefits to same-sex couples.[173]

The debate regarding same-sex marriages includes debate based upon social viewpoints as well as debate based on majority rules, religious convictions, economic arguments, health-related concerns, and a variety of other issues.

[edit] Judicial and legislativeMain article: Marriage (conflict)#Same-sex marriage
There are differing positions regarding the manner in which same-sex marriage has been introduced into democratic jurisdictions. A "majority rules" position holds that same-sex marriage is valid, or void and illegal, based upon whether it has been accepted by a simple majority of voters or of their elected representatives.[174] In contrast, a "civil rights" view holds that the institution can be validly created through the ruling of an impartial judiciary carefully examining the questioning and finding that the right to marry regardless of the gender of the participants is guaranteed under the civil rights laws of the jurisdiction.[175]

[edit] ReligionMain article: Religious arguments about same-sex marriage
Arguments on both sides of the same-sex marriage debate are still often made on religious grounds and/or formulated in terms of religious doctrine. One source of controversy is how same-sex marriage affects freedom of religion.[170][176][177][178][179][180][181] Some religious organizations (citing their religious beliefs) refuse to provide employment, public accommodations, adoption services and other benefits to same-sex couples.[182][183] Some governments have made special provisions for religious protections within the texts of same-sex marriage laws.[184]

Pope John Paul II, then head of the Roman Catholic church, criticized same-sex marriage[185] when it was introduced in the Netherlands in 2001. His successor Pope Benedict XVI has maintained opposition to the institution, considering it amongst "the most insidious and dangerous threats to the common good today".[186][187]

Some Christian groups have been vocal and politically active in opposing same-sex marriage legalization in the United States.[188][189] Roman Catholic advocates of monogamous heterosexual marriages contend that same-sex relationships cannot be considered marriages because marriage, by definition, necessarily involves the uniting of two members of the opposite sex.[25] Other religious arguments for an opposite-sex definition of marriage hold that same-sex relationships should not be recognized as marriages because same-gender sexual activity is contrary to God's will,[190][191][192] is immoral,[193] and subverts God's creative intent for human sexuality.[29] Christian opposition to same-sex marriage also comes from the belief that same-sex marriage normalizes homosexual behavior and would encourage it, instead of encouraging resistance to same-sex attraction.[29]

Some Abrahamic religious arguments against same-sex marriage are based upon Old Testament passages that discuss the fate of Sodom (Genesis 19:4–19:11), command that one "not lie with mankind, as with womankind" (Leviticus 18:22), and state that those that do "shall surely be put to death",[194][195][196][197] while others are based upon New Testament passages on topics of people going against "natural use" in their lust (Romans 1), the "unrighteous" (1 Corinthians 6:8–6:10), and the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah (Jude 1:7).[195][197] Christian groups that have been vocal and or active in their opposition to same-sex marriages include the Assemblies of God,[198] Church of God in Christ,[199] The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as Mormons),[200] the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference,[201] the Conservative Mennonite Conference,[202] the Convocation of Anglicans in North America, the Hutterite Brethren,[203] the Orthodox Church in America,[204] the Brethren in Christ,[205] the Mennonite Church USA,[206] the Roman Catholic Church, the Seventh-day Adventist Church,[207] the Southern Baptist Convention,[208] the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America (OU),[209] and the United Pentecostal Church International. In 2009, a group of Christian leaders from various denominations issued the Manhattan Declaration, an "influential statement that united evangelicals and Catholic leaders in fighting abortion and gay marriage"; as of November 2010, the Declaration had been signed by over 475,000 individuals.[210][211]

Christian supporters of same-sex marriage have stated that marriage rights for same-sex couples strengthens the institution of marriage and provides legal protection for children of gay and lesbian parents.[citation needed] Bible-based arguments for same-sex marriage rights include that the word "homosexual", as found in modern versions of the Bible, is an inaccurate translation of the original texts.[212][213] The word "Homosexual" as used in modern translations of the Holy Bible may be a transliteration and not a direct translation of the original text; Neither Vine's Expository Dictionary nor Strong's Concordance (two significant bible reference works) contain the word "homosexual,". There is no direct biblical prohibition of marriage rights for same-sex couples.[214] The Christian Bible does not define the institution of marriage. Biblical texts used by non-affirming Christian organizations to condemn homosexuality, and by extension same-sex marriage, may refer only to specific sex acts and idolatrous worship lacking any relevance to contemporary same-sex relationships.[215] Supporting marriage rights for gays and lesbians is viewed by many affirming Christians as a Christ-like commitment to the equality and dignity of all persons.[216][217][218] The United Church of Canada asserts that "human sexual orientations, whether heterosexual, bisexual or homosexual, are a gift from God",[219] whilst the Yearly Meeting of Quakers in the United Kingdom decided to offer same-sex marriages, though national law permits only civil partnerships.[citation needed]

On July 4, 2005 the United Church of Christ (UCC), at their 25th General Synod, voted to support full legal and religious marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples making it the first mainline Christian denomination in the United States to support and promote same sex marriage equality.[citation needed] The UCC is a liberal Christian denomination with a long history of supporting gay rights, women's rights, African-American civil rights and other issues of social justice.[citation needed]

Unitarian Universalism, a liberal faith tradition, supports same-sex marriage.[220] It has taken an active role advocating for LGBT rights and same-sex marriages are often performed in UU congregations.[citation needed]

In addition to the churches that have already included gays and lesbians in their marriage tradition, others including the Episcopal Church, the Presbyterian Church U.S.A, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and the Church of Scotland are discussing the issue among their members.

Judaism, like Christianity, contains varying views on the issue of marriage rights, both politically and religiously, for same-sex couples.[citation needed] Some Orthodox Jews maintain the traditional Jewish bans on both sexual acts and marriages amongst members of the same sex,[221] but other orthodox rabbis, such as Steven Greenberg, disagree.[citation needed] In the Australian Jewish journal Galus Australis, Rachel Sacks-Davis has criticised Orthodox rabbis who have come out against same-sex civil marriage, stating that these rabbis have failed to grasp the concept of separation between church and state.[222] Some Conservative Jews reject recognition of same-sex unions as marriages, but permit celebration of commitment ceremonies, while others recognize same-sex marriage.[223] The Union for Reform Judaism (formerly known as the Union of American Hebrew Congregations) supports the inclusion of same-sex unions within the definition of marriage.[224] The Jewish Reconstructionist Federation leaves the choice to individual rabbis.[225]

From the Islamic perspective, a majority of Muslim legal scholars cite the rulings of the prophet Muhammad and the story of Lot in Sodom as condemnation of homosexuality. Given that Islam views marriage as an exchange between two parties where the man offers protection and security in return for exclusive sexual and reproductive rights to the woman, same-sex marriages cannot be considered legal within the constraints of a Muslim marriage.[226]

Buddhist scripture and teachings do not take a consistent stance against homosexuality, and do not specifically proscribe nor endorse same-sex marriage; thus, there is no unified stance for or against the practice.[227]

Many Wiccan communities are supportive of same-sex marriages, but as Wicca is a non-dogmatic and non-monolithic religious movement, there is no unity of opinion or official position on the subject.[228][229]

[edit] Children and the familyMain articles: LGBT parenting and Same-sex marriage and the family
Literature indicates that parents' financial, psychological and physical well-being is enhanced by marriage and that children benefit from being raised by two parents within a legally recognized union.[11][13][230][231] Scientific research has been consistent in showing that lesbian and gay parents are as fit and capable as heterosexual parents, and their children are as psychologically healthy and well-adjusted as children reared by heterosexual parents.[232][233][234] According to scientific literature reviews, there is no evidence to the contrary.[11][159][235][236][237]

Maggie Gallagher and Margaret Somerville argue that a child has a right to be raised by a father and a mother, and that legalizing same-sex marriage undermines that right.[26][238]

[edit] Education controversyThe subject of how the legalization of same-sex marriage affects public education is a source of controversy.[239][240] An argument sometimes used by supporters is that teaching about same-sex marriage in schools will help children to be more open minded by exposing them to different types of families.[241] There is concern from opponents of same-sex marriage that it will undermine parental rights over their children's education.[242][243]

Same-sex marriage opponents express concern that the information being presented in schools might not be accurate,[244] might omit medical, psychological and legal impacts of homosexuality,[245] and might be age-inappropriate.[246] There has also been concern that educators who disagree with same-sex marriage curricula could be punished.[245][247]

[edit] See alsoAdoption by same-sex couples
Divorce of same-sex couples
Family law
Homosexuality
LGBT rights in Europe
LGBT portal
Marriage rights and obligations
Marriage, unions and partnerships by country
Same-sex marriage and the family
Status of same-sex marriage
Timeline of same-sex marriage

[edit] ReligionBlessing of same-sex unions in Christian churches
Religion and sexuality
Religious views on same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage and Judaism
[edit] U.S. specificDefense of Marriage Act
LGBT rights in the United States
Marriage gap (U.S. centric)
Opponents of same-sex marriage in the United States
Supporters of same-sex marriage in the United States
Same-sex controversy in the U.S. Census 2000
Uniting American Families Act
[edit] HistoricalAdelphopoiesis ("brother-making")
The Leveret Spirit
[edit] Documentaries and literatureA Union in Wait
Freedom to Marry
Marriage Under Fire
Pursuit of Equality
Marriage Equality USA
The Gay Marriage Thing
MTV's True Life: I'm Gay and I'm Getting Married
[edit] Footnotes1.^ "Gay marriage in New York". New York Post. http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2011/06/25/2011-06-25_gay_marriage_in_new_york_lady_gaga_ricky_martin_ellen_de_generes_and_more_celebr.html. "Celebs who have long advocated for marriage equality flooded the Twittersphere to rejoice with their fans, friends and partners after Friday's decision in New York."
2.^ a b JAMES, MAGALHÃES DE MEDEIROS. "PROVIMENTO Nº 40, DE 06 DE DEZEMBRO DE 2011" (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 8 January 2012. http://www.webcitation.org/64Y30IZ2Y. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
3.^ Writer, Staff (2007-10-05). "Australian trans passport victory". PinkNews.co.uk. http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-5661.html. Retrieved 2011-12-28.
4.^ Marriage: Both Civil and Religious, Pamela Taylor, The Washington Post, July 31, 2009.
5.^ Marriage a Civil Right, not Sacred Rite, Susan Smith, The Washington Post, July 30, 2009; Retrieved September 12, 2009.
6.^ "Decision in Perry v. Schwarzenegger". https://ecf.cand.uscourts.gov/cand/09cv2292/files/09cv2292-ORDER.pdf. Retrieved August 6, 2010.
7.^ a b American Psychological Association (2004). "Resolution on Sexual Orientation and Marriage". http://www.apa.org/about/governance/council/policy/gay-marriage.pdf. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
8.^ American Psychiatric Association (2005). "Support of Legal Recognition of Same-Sex Civil Marriage". http://archive.psych.org/edu/other_res/lib_archives/archives/200502.pdf. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
9.^ American Psychoanalytic Association. "Position Paper On Gay Marriage". http://www.apsa.org/About_APsaA/Position_Statements/Gay_Marriage.aspx. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
10.^ a b American Sociological Association. "American Sociological Association Member Resolution on Proposed U.S. Constitutional Amendment Regarding Marriage". http://www2.asanet.org/public/marriage_res.html. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
11.^ a b c "Brief of the American Psychological Association, The California Psychological Association, the American Psychiatric Association, and the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy as amici curiae in support of plaintiff-appellees – Appeal from United States District Court for the Northern District of California Civil Case No. 09-CV-2292 VRW (Honorable Vaughn R. Walker)" (PDF). http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/general/2010/10/27/amicus29.pdf. Retrieved 2010-11-05.
12.^ a b Marriage of Same-Sex Couples – 2006 Position Statement Canadian Psychological Association. (PDF) . Retrieved on 2011-09-30.
13.^ a b Pawelski JG, Perrin EC, Foy JM, et al. (July 2006). "The effects of marriage, civil union, and domestic partnership laws on the health and well-being of children". Pediatrics 118 (1): 349–64. doi:10.1542/peds.2006-1279. PMID 16818585. available online: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/118/1/349
14.^ "Brief of Amici Curiae American Anthropological Association et al., supporting plaintiffs-appellees and urging affirmance – Appeal from United States District Court for the Northern District of California Civil Case No. 09-CV-2292 VRW (Honorable Vaughn R. Walker)" (PDF). http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/general/2010/10/27/amicus39.pdf. Retrieved 2010-11-05.
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16.^ Prop. 8 Challenged in Federal Court, American Foundation for Equal Rights, May 27, 2009.
17.^ Abraham, Julie (May). "Public Relations: Why the Rush to Same-Sex Marriage? And Who Stands to Benefit?". The Women's Review of Books 17 (8): 12–14. doi:10.2307/4023418. JSTOR 4023418. "its most vocal advocates want gay marriage because marriage stands at the center of a system of legitimization [...]."
18.^ Azzolina, David (February 2003). "The End of Gay (and the Death of Heterosexuality).(Book Review)". Library Journal: 288.
19.^ Warner, Michael (1999). The Trouble with Normal. The Free Press. p. 80.
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21.^ Frank: Scalia's legal opinions reveal his homophobia, CNN, March 25, 2009. Retrieved September 9, 2009.
22.^ Craig A. Rimmerman; Clyde Wilcox (2007). The politics of same-sex marriage. University of Chicago Press. p. 234. ISBN 9780226720012. "Clearly homophobia is at the heart of blanket opposition to gay rights policies."
23.^ Evan Gerstmann (2004). Same-sex marriage and the Constitution. Cambridge University Press. p. 56. ISBN 9780521009522. "Keeping marriage heterosexual and dual gendered clearly has more widespread support than other homophobic policies."
24.^ Mathabane, Gail (January 25, 2004). "Gays face same battle interracial couples fought". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2004-01-25-couples_x.htm. Retrieved February 1, 2010.
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28.^ Orthodox Rabbis Join New Jersey Gay Marriage Debate. Huff Post. 12/1/09
Aryeh Spero Opposition to Gay Marriage is Not Discrimination. catholiceducation.org
See e.g., Southern Baptist Convention, On Same-Sex Marriage (adopted 2003).
"The Religious Right and Anti-Gay Speech: Messengers of Love or Purveyors of Hate?". Matthew Shepard Online Resources. Archived from the original on December 19, 2002. http://web.archive.org/web/20021219203548/http://hatecrime.org/subpages/hatespeech/robertson.html.
Gay Marriage Questions
Church in Ukraine calls Elton John a Sinner In Adoption Inquiry, Joshua Cinelli, Daily News, September 16, 2009.
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30.^ Anthropology Matters!, Shirley Fedorak, Broadview Press, 2007, Chapter 11, Page 174
31.^ a b The Nayars and the Definition of Marriage, Kathleen Gough, The Journals of Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, 1959.
32.^ Boy-wives and female husbands: studies of African homosexualities, Stephen O. Murray, Will Roscoe
33.^ Revisiting "Woman-Woman Marriage": Notes on Gikuyu Women, Wairimu Ngaruiya Njambi and William O'Brien, William E. NWSA Journal – Volume 12, Number 1, Spring 2000, pp. 1–23
34.^ Dictionaries take lead in redefining modern marriage, Washington Times, May 24, 2004.
35.^ Webster Makes It Official: Definition of Marriage Has Changed, Martha Neil, American Bar Association, March 23, 2009.
36.^ Dictionaries recognize same-sex marriage—who knew?, Daniel Redman, Slate, April 7, 2009; Retrieved September 19, 2009
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56.^ Chris Scarre "Chronicles of the Roman Emperors" (London: Thames and Hudson Ltd, 1995). Page 151.
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58.^ Treggiari, Roman Marriage (Oxford, 1991), p. 5.
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[edit] BibliographyBoswell, John (1995). The Marriage of Likeness: Same-sex Unions in Pre-modern Europe. New York: Simon Harper and Collins. ISBN 0002555085.
Boswell, John (1994). Same-sex Unions in Premodern Europe. New York: Villard Books. ISBN 0679432280.
Emanuele Calò, Matrimonio à la carte — Matrimoni, convivenze registrate e divorzi dopo l'intervento comunitario, Milano, Giuffrè, 2009
Caramagno, Thomas C. (2002). Irreconcilable Differences? Intellectual Stalemate in the Gay Rights Debate. Westport, CT: Praeger. ISBN 0275977218.
Cere, Daniel (2004). Divorcing Marriage: Unveiling the Dangers in Canada's New Social Experiment. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press. ISBN 0773528954.
Chauncey, George (2004). Why Marriage?: The History Shaping Today's Debate over Gay Equality. New York: Basic Books. ISBN 0465009573.
Dobson, James C. (2004). Marriage Under Fire. Sisters, Or.: Multnomah. ISBN 1590524314.
Larocque, Sylvain (2006). Gay Marriage: The Story of a Canadian Social Revolution. Toronto: James Lorimer & Company. ISBN 1550289276.
Moats, David (2004). Civil Wars: A Battle For Gay Marriage. New York, NY: Harcourt, Inc.. ISBN 015101017X.
Rauch, Jonathan (2004). Gay Marriage: Why It Is Good for Gays, Good for Straights, and Good for America. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company, LLC. ISBN 0805078150.
Spedale, Darren (2006). Gay Marriage: For Better or For Worse? What We've Learned From the Evidence. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195187512.
Truluck, Rembert S. (2000). Steps to Recovery from Bible Abuse. Gaithersburg, MD: Chi Rho Press, Inc.. ISBN 188849316X.
Wolfson, Evan (2004). Why Marriage Matters: America, Equality, and Gay People's Right to Marry. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0743264592.
Robert P. George, Jean Bethke Elshtain (Eds.), ed. (2006). The Meaning of Marriage: Family, State, Market, And Morals. Dallas: Spence Publishing Company. ISBN 1890626643.
Robert E. Goss, Amy Adams Squire Strongheart (Eds.), ed. (2008). Our Families, Our Values: Snapshots of Queer Kinship. New York, NY: The Harrington Park Press, An Imprint of the Haworth Press, Inc.. ISBN 1560239107.
Douglas Laycock, Anthony Picarello, Jr., Robin Fretwell Wilson (Eds.), ed. (2008). Same-Sex Marriage and Religious Liberty: Emerging Conflicts. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.. ISBN 074256326X.
Andrew Sullivan (Editor), ed. (2004). Same-Sex Marriage: Pro and Con — A Reader, Revised Updated Edition. New York, NY: Vintage Books, a division of Random House, Inc.. ISBN 1400078660.
Oliver, Marilyn Tower (1998). Gay and lesbian rights: a struggle. Enslow Publishers. ISBN 9780894909580. http://books.google.com/?id=XXIFAAAACAAJ.
[edit] External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Same-sex marriage

Same-sex marriage at the Open Directory Project
Google Map of "World homosexuality laws"
Same-Sex Marriage, Civil Unions, and Domestic Partnerships collected news and commentary at The New York Times
Same-sex marriage collected legal news at JURIST
Considerations Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions between Homosexual Persons
Lockyer v. City and County of San Francisco California Supreme Court Opinion overturning ban on same-sex unions, May 15, 2008
Same-Sex Marriage: Developments in the Law", Emily Doskow, NOLO, 2008.
Varnum Et. Al. v Brien Polk County Iowa Iowa Supreme Court Opinion Overturns Ban on Gay Marriage 3Apr2009.
U.S. Census Gay Marriage Statistics from April 1999
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