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The post that was quoted here has been removedThe Veggie dino's ate leaves off the trees. Were the trees taller in those days? I think they were (though i could be wrong). The Carnivorous dino's would have evolved in size to allow them to catch and eat the Veggies....
Alternatively, the predators caught the small dino's more easily, thus creating an evolutionary catalyst for the Veggies to grow bigger. As before, the bigger the prey, the bigger the predator...
The post that was quoted here has been removedif you think of the time scale involved, the 'now' is just a blink of an eye compared to the 180 million years of species coming, evolving and disappearing. so, probability of finding really huge ones improves massively when you look back.
individual species probably had differing reasons in different habitats for getting so big. but the abundance of nutrition for a looong time is clearly one condition which can't be overlooked.
The post that was quoted here has been removedEvolution is effectively an arms race. Prey gets faster, predator gets faster. Prey gets taller, predator gets taller. It is possible that the prey got bigger after the predators, though i've never heard of a case (though i'm hardly an expert on the subject...)
Originally posted by wormwoodI know Earth was mainly forest during the time of the dinosaurs (he's says, summing up about 100 million years in a sentence). Working on this basis, there would have been an evolutionary arms race going on between the plants in those forests. Looking at current Forrest's, one of the most successful ways to get ahead is to get BIG! It stands to reason that, over a long enough period the animals would grow big to adapt.
if you think of the time scale involved, the 'now' is just a blink of an eye compared to the 180 million years of species coming, evolving and disappearing. so, probability of finding really huge ones improves massively when you look back.
individual species probably had differing reasons in different habitats for getting so big. but the abundance of nutrition for a looong time is clearly one condition which can't be overlooked.
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Originally posted by Marinkatombactually, it seems the smallest species often win the race. think about insects, spiders, rats and stuff like that. not to mention the single-celled organisms which dominate earth's biomass.
I know Earth was mainly forest during the time of the dinosaurs (he's says, summing up about 100 million years in a sentence). Working on this basis, there would have been an evolutionary arms race going on between the plants in those forests. Looking at current Forrest's, one of the most successful ways to get ahead is to get BIG! It stands to reason that, over a long enough period the animals would grow big to adapt.
Originally posted by wormwoodYeah! People tend to think we all that. But if it weren't for some microorganisms human species wouldn't exist. And if human species stopped to exist those little micro-organisms would still be around.
actually, it seems the smallest species often win the race. think about insects, spiders, rats and stuff like that. not to mention the single-celled organisms which dominate earths biomass.
Originally posted by wormwoodThose species feed off different materials, therefore come under different evolutionary change. If rats were competing to eat the leaves on the tops of trees then they'd have been as massive as the brontosaurus...
actually, it seems the smallest species often win the race. think about insects, spiders, rats and stuff like that. not to mention the single-celled organisms which dominate earth's biomass.