Energy News  
EARLY EARTH
After dinosaurs, mammals went supersized

disclaimer: image is for illustration purposes only
by Staff Writers
Albuquerque (UPI) Nov 26, 2010
When dinosaurs disappeared, the world's mammal species went on a growth binge and then hit an upper limit, all at about the same time, U.S. researchers say.

Scientists at the University of New Mexico making a survey of big-mammal body size found mammal groups around the world tended to give rise to giant species at about the same time, ScienceNews.org reported Thursday.

Such supersizing took about 20 million years after the disappearance of the dinosaurs, paleoecologist Felisa A. Smith says.

The few mammal species that survived the catastrophe that wiped out dinosaurs started small, "about the size of a baseball, certainly not as big as a football," Smith says.

But with dinosaurs gone, mammal groups diversified to fill new niches, and sizes shot up.

It peaked with creatures like the Indricotherium, a rhinoceros-like mammal that weighed about 17 tons, and Deinotherium, tipping the scales at more than 18 tons.

But by 40 million years ago sizes reached a plateau, the scientists say.

Body size is limited roughly by the amount of land area available and by temperature, the researchers say, making them the major constraints that set a maximum body size.



Share This Article With Planet Earth
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit
YahooMyWebYahooMyWeb GoogleGoogle FacebookFacebook



Related Links
Explore The Early Earth at TerraDaily.com



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


EARLY EARTH
Big Tail Was Key To Speed And Hunting Prowess Of T Rex
Edmonton, Canada (SPX) Nov 16, 2010
Tyrannosaurus rex was far from a plodding Cretaceous era scavenger whose long tail only served to counterbalance the up-front weight of its freakishly big head. T. rex's athleticism (and its rear end) has been given a makeover by University of Alberta graduate student Scott Persons. His extensive research shows that powerful tail muscles made the giant carnivore one of the fastest moving h ... read more







EARLY EARTH
LockMart Continues Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion

Indian minister says adopting US lifestyle a 'disaster'

German regulator wants 'energy Schengen'

China admits it is the world's biggest polluter

EARLY EARTH
Oil-rich south Sudan must weigh progress versus environment

Methane-Powered Laptops May Be Closer Than You Think

Extending The Life Of Oil Reserves

Conductor Paths For Marvelous Light

EARLY EARTH
Optimizing Large Wind Farms

Enhancing The Efficiency Of Wind Turbines

Argentina adds wind to energy portfolio

GL Garrad Hassan Chosen For SMart Wind's 'Hornsea' Zone

EARLY EARTH
Boeing To Mass-Produce Industry's Most Efficient Terrestrial Solar Cell

Tennessee's Largest Solar Array Under Construction In Jackson

Energy From The Desert - Egypt

Energy From The Desert - Tunisia

EARLY EARTH
Russia's nuclear concern 'out of control': watchdog

Iran says first nuclear plant begins operating

Areva's Finnish EPR reactor delayed again: Finnish group

Russia agrees to build two more reactors in China

EARLY EARTH
Diverse Coalition Files Lawsuit To Overturn EPA's 'E15' Decision

Rentech's Synthetic RenDiesel Fuels Audi A3 TDI

CARB Will Cut LCFS Penalty For Ethanol In Half

NACF: USDA Program Could Be A Biomass Boon

EARLY EARTH
Tasks For Tiangong

China To Launch First Female Astronauts

Two Telescopes For Tiangong

Chinese Female Taikonaut Identified

EARLY EARTH
U.K: 2010 temps near record high as snow comes early

Horror summer fails to shift Russia climate scepticism

Britain shivers after earliest November snow for 17 years

Climate change: UN in the Last Chance Saloon


The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2010 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement