Why Were There No Tiny Dinosaurs? You Might Blame Mammals
Researchers say small-bodied mammals likely filled niches that kept many dinosaurs from evolving into tiny species.
- Paleontologist Roger Benson of the American Museum of Natural History in New York released a study using mathematical models to explain why tiny dinosaurs never evolved.
- During the age of dinosaurs, mammals thrived in ecological niches perfect for small body sizes, effectively closing off those abundant niches to tiny dinosaurs.
- "Think of rodents, shrews, bats, songbirds, most lizards, frogs, so many small species," Benson said. Even the one-pound Microraptor was much larger than today's smallest birds.
- Birds evolved flight adaptations around 130 million years ago, allowing them to escape ecological competition and invade tiny body sizes, explaining the biodiversity of more than 12,000 species.
- Paleontologist Stephanie Lechki of Princeton University noted that small animals require fewer resources and reproduce quickly. Snakes and crocodilians also deviated from mathematical models, revealing complex evolutionary dynamics at play.
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18 Articles
Why there were no tiny dinosaurs: New study suggests mammals may have stopped dinosaurs evolving into smaller species
Science News: Dinosaurs ruled the Earth for roughly 180 million years, filling nearly every ecological role available to them. Yet one gap in their story has puzzle.
Why Were There No Tiny Dinosaurs? Mammals Might Have Played A Role
Dinosaurs first appeared roughly 230 million years ago and eventually became the dominant land animals, holding that status until an asteroid struck Earth 66 million years ago, causing a mass extinction of species.
Why were there no tiny dinosaurs? You might blame the mammals
Everyone knows that dinosaurs were truly huge. Some of the long-necked herbivores were the largest creatures to ever walk the Earth, such as the gigantic Argentinosaurus, which reached a length of... Research: Why weren't there tiny dinosaurs? - The blame lies with mammals - ΙΝΑΤΕΜΟΜΟΡΙΚΙ
Dinosaurs are mostly recognized as giants, from T. rex to Argentinosaurus. But the study, led by Stephanie Lackey of Princeton University and Roger Benson of the American Museum of Natural History, argues that the really interesting question is why they were never very small, like mice or songbirds. The researchers used mathematical models of energy efficiency to examine the distribution of body sizes in vertebrates. For mammals, birds and turtl…
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