dhw: Example: 396 species of dinosaur left no descendants. The only survivors were the four species that evolved into modern birds. How does that come to mean that we and our food are descended from the 396 species that left no descendants?

dhw: Your usual slice and dice. Evolution is a continuum. The 99.9% extinct produced the 0.1% surviving.

Has it occurred to you to question the appearance of feathers on dinosaurs before any flight happened? The history of life is filled with such events. See the new entry I'm creating.