66 million years ago the new animals were the boss of this Earth
New research suggests that before the dinosaurs became extinct, the mammals had developed very well.
Fossil data show that the dinosaurs officially became extinct 66 million years ago. And for a very long time, scientists still think that before that time, mammals are almost non-existent, or there are very few small-size species that appear.
Fossil data show that the dinosaurs officially became extinct 66 million years ago.
But according to a recent study, turning ahead of the time of dinosaurs extinction for 10-20 million years, mammals have grown very strong and gradually took control of the Earth.
More specifically, the study was conducted by experts from the University of Chicago (USA) and Southampton (England). According to researcher David Grossnickle, "The common perception is that mammals have been squeezed by dinosaurs, and they can only grow after the dinosaurs are extinct. However, this study shows that therian mammals - the ancestors of modern mammals - soon evolved when the dinosaurs died. "
Mammals may have developed before dinosaurs became extinct.
Previous studies were in opposition to this new hypothesis, and based on the fact that mammalian fossils were found to be only insectivores that were extremely small and not diverse.
But in the past few years, a lot of animal fossils have been found, including ancestors of ungulates with the size of dogs.
In addition, another proof of this theory comes from the fossil teeth . Scientists have studied hundreds of different molars. And they realized that the animals at the time of the still-prosperous dinosaurs had very diverse teeth, proving that their diet was equally diverse.
Tooth samples were found to be very diverse, indicating that the diet was clearly divided among mammals.
This suggests that animals must also develop, fight and survive at the same time as dinosaurs. And obviously, they are more adaptable, although many animals are extinct at this time.
Dr. Grossnickle said: "I used to think animals would thrive after the dinosaurs became extinct, but in fact many species have gone down. This is contrary to conventional thinking, so I have studied Save more deeply and come to this conclusion ".
However, the reason for such animal development is still mysterious. Experts have only hypothesized a link to the development of flowering plants during the same period.
The study is published in Nature.
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