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Why did mammals take over?
Topic Started: Nov 19 2012, 12:04 PM (5,719 Views)
Ausar
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Xi-miqa-can! Xi-miqa-can! Xi-miqa-can!
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Of all animals, why did the mammals become the most dominant land animals after the extinction of the dinosaurs? Why not crocodiles, lizards, birds, snakes, etc.?
Edited by Ausar, Nov 19 2012, 12:04 PM.
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Ursus panthera
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Artiodactyla
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Posted Image

Fish, Reptilians and Amphibians have dominated the planet for far longer than that of the mammals
in time perhaps another class will become more dominant.
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SpinoInWonderland
The madness has come back...
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Pure luck...
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Ursus panthera
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Artiodactyla
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brolyeuphyfusion
Nov 20 2012, 12:14 AM
Pure luck...
^o) ...No
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Megafelis Fatalis
Carnivore
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Because they are the Best !! :D
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SpinoInWonderland
The madness has come back...
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Prehistoric Cat
Nov 20 2012, 12:28 AM
Because they are the Best !! :D
Umm...Nope...
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Megafelis Fatalis
Carnivore
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brolyeuphyfusion
Nov 20 2012, 12:35 AM
Prehistoric Cat
Nov 20 2012, 12:28 AM
Because they are the Best !! :D
Umm...Nope...
So why ? On Land and in Water Mammals are the best
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SpinoInWonderland
The madness has come back...
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Prehistoric Cat
Nov 20 2012, 12:40 AM
brolyeuphyfusion
Nov 20 2012, 12:35 AM
Prehistoric Cat
Nov 20 2012, 12:28 AM
Because they are the Best !! :D
Umm...Nope...
So why ? On Land and in Water Mammals are the best
You are obviously biased...
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Ursus panthera
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Artiodactyla
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Prehistoric Cat
Nov 20 2012, 12:40 AM
brolyeuphyfusion
Nov 20 2012, 12:35 AM
Prehistoric Cat
Nov 20 2012, 12:28 AM
Because they are the Best !! :D
Umm...Nope...
So why ? On Land and in Water Mammals are the best
The reason mammal's dominate is due to the arival of man
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Elephantus
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Tusker
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My guess: Higher brain power and adaptability then the other vertebrates that remained after the mass extinction of dinosaurs.
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Black Ice
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Prehistoric Cat
Nov 20 2012, 12:40 AM
brolyeuphyfusion
Nov 20 2012, 12:35 AM
Prehistoric Cat
Nov 20 2012, 12:28 AM
Because they are the Best !! :D
Umm...Nope...
So why ? On Land and in Water Mammals are the best
Stop that mammal superioty bullsh*t already. Anyway my thought? It was just the mammals time to rule, arthropods,amphibians,reptiles etc already had their time. Now it seems it's the mammals turn to dominate the planet.
Edited by Black Ice, Nov 20 2012, 05:06 AM.
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Ursus panthera
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Artiodactyla
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It is more than that
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Jinfengopteryx
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Aspiring paleontologist, science enthusiast and armchair speculative fiction/evolution writer
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Probably they had an advantage in the colder climate after the dinosaurs went extinct.
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Admantus
Herbivore
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Also the mammals's main rival during the time of the dinosaurs, notosuchians, became extinct during the kt events. Birds were at a disadvantage because they had to give up flight if they were to take mammal niches. Also, birds could only get as big as half a ton. Another potential competitor, pterosaurs, were gone in the kt extinction. They were already being driven to big sizes by birds, and so that was their downfall. They could take ground niches without abandoning flight, like birds. They were also quadropeds, which allowed greater ground freedom than birds. The remaining reptiles that survived the extinction couldn't keep up with the mammals, and became background fauna. You could call birds secondary rulers, though, because they still outnumber mammals 2 to 1.
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Drift
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High Spined Lizard
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They were simply in the right place at the right time, As the superior species began to die off they assumed control slowly
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