Why There Were No Small Dinosaurs (IMAGE)
Caption
While mammals occupied the various ecological niches with different species (left), the egg-laying dinosaurs occupied the same niches with few large species -- in their respective different growth stages (right). Consequently, there was no room in the niche for smaller and medium-sized species (far right). The absence of species in the smaller and medium size range proved disastrous for them during the mass extinction as it obliterated all the large species and there were not enough small species of dinosaur that could have reoccupied the vacant niches.
Credit
University of Zurich; Jeanne Peter
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