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Originally Posted by PraedSt
The Mesozoic also supported huge, land, life-forms, correct?
Would it be a better question to ask why our current period is the only one that doesn't/hasn't?
Thanks
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The current period, the Cenozoic, is 65 million years long. But, as the mammals evolved from smaller forms that had survived the K/T they did grow to larger forms:
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After larger terrestrial animals had become extinct at the end of the Cretaceous, pantodonts, uintatheres and xenungulates were the first mammals to evolve to larger size. These animals were once united in an order Amblypoda (meaning "blunt foot"), but are today assigned to separate orders Pantodonta, Dinocerata and Xenungulata.
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Source
And of course in recent times the Wooly Mammoth
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(By the way, I hate it that so many papers in the areas of planetary science and geology are not easily available to the dreaded "non-subscribers". It is like they are screaming at me: "YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH". Good, I feel better now.)
"Quaerendo inventis"
Last edited by jlhredshift; 03-October-2008 at 04:16 PM..
Reason: repair link
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