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How were mammals able to survive the Triassic Extinction while dinosaurs died out?
Wiki User
∙ 9y ago
Mammals survived where most dinosaurs (not all) died out for several reasons:
- Mammals were eaten by various sizes of dinosaurs. Over time, mammals developed the ability to reproduce and have babies very fast, and give birth to large litters, too. The dinosaurs were very slow to reproduce, so as they died out, they couldn't make enough babies to replace them, where the mammals could.
- Mammals, for the most part, were small, allowing them to live deep under rocks or in burrows where they were protected from whatever killed off the dinosaurs.
- Dinosaurs could not find enough food to eat because their normal food animals were killed, too. But the mammals, being much smaller, could eat many little things - grass, insects, each other, that kept them healthy. Dinosaurs mostly required large food sources, which were disappearing.
There is much more to this story than can be told, here.
Wiki User
∙ 9y ago
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What effects have mass extinctions had on history life?
Mass extinctions have the effect of eliminating a large number of species, which leaves a wide variety of niches open to new species. Whichever species survive the mass extinction quickly evolve into many new forms to fill the empty niches. The Permian-Triassic Extinction Event left niches open to the dinosaurs, and the Cretaceous-Tertiary Extinction eliminated dinosaurs, leaving niches open to mammals.
When do small mammals appear in fossil records?
During the KT extinction event the majority of life on earth became extinct. Small mammals, however, were able to survive this mass extinction.
What is mammal competition?
Mammal competition is a theory about the extinction of the dinosaurs. It says that mammals used up all of the dinosaur's resources, and then the dinosaurs died because they didn't have the food, space, and resources they needed to survive.
What impact does extinction have on your world?
Well, the extinction of the dinosaurs makes it a lot easier for people to survive.
Did early mammals cause the extinction of dinosaurs?
No. By the time the dinosaurs went extinct mammals still played a relatively minor role ecologically. It is generally accepted that an asteroid or comet struck the earth, causing ecosystems to collapse worldwide and resulting the extinction of many groups of animals including the dinosaurs.
What happened during the triassic period?
The major events in he Triassic time period are Pangea{the supercontinet}, It follows the largest extinction in history, animals, plants, and reptiles appeared, and when surviors of that event spread and recolonized.
What type of reptile did not survive the mass extinction event at the end of the mesozoic era?
Dinosaurs
If humans evolved from the sea where did the dinosaurs evolve from?
Humans evolved from mammals like dinosaurs such as dimetrodon. All Vertebrate's evolved from the sea, Dinosaurs and Humans alike (the first were neither Reptiles nor Mammals but Tetrapods). These Tetrapods were the first to make the move from ocean to land: At the time of the Dinosaurs the only Mammals were tiny mouse like creatures unable to increase in size and complexity due to the domination of the Dinosaurs - that small size helped the early mammals to survive underground whilst the Dinos perished during the extinction event. And the rest, is history!
How did birds survive?
If you mean how did birds survive the extinction of dinosaurs then I think they flew away before the asteroid itself actually hit the earth
How mass extinction affected life on Earth?
Mass extinction isn't a natural role in any life-system. They happen as a consequence of some catatrosphic disaster or radical unbalance in the eco-system. As a result of mass extinctions other 'groups' evolve into species that take the place of those exterminated.
Did tortoises survive dinosaur extinction?
Yes, they sure did. Researchers are now saying that they seem to have survived the mass extinction of the dinosaurs because of their aquatic lifestyles and slow metabolisms. Basically, their bodily processes needed very little energy and were so slow that they could survive on little resources during and after the time of the dinosaurs.
What are mass extinctions followed by?
Mass extinctions are usually followed by long periods of low or absent population. Some species always survive a mass extinction, following the Darwinian law of survival. When the dinosaurs died out the mammals began to prevail and eventually took over.
