which class is thought to have been descended from dinosaurs
Evolution of reptiles The evolution of birds is thought to have begun in the Jurassic Period, with the earliest birds derived from theropod dinosaurs. Birds are categorized as a biological class, Aves. The earliest known species in Aves is Archaeopteryx lithographica, from the Late Jurassic period. Modern phylogenetics place birds in the dinosaur clade Theropoda. According to the current consensus, Aves and Crocodilia are the sole living members of an unranked clade, the Archosauria.