<< (Bear in mind, too, that some of the brontotheres of the mid Cainozoic were
pretty weight competitive with at least the smaller sauropods. No doubt the
brontotheres were something less than wildly active; but this shows that
sauropodian mammals - while probably less likely than their dinosaurian
counterparts - were not completely impossible)
Then why didn't Imperial Mammoth grow 100' tall, especially when in cold
climates such as an Ice Age, it would be a benefit? I suppose that steppe
grasses will only take you so far...
On the other hand, perhaps the combination of high body mass AND internal
temperature regulation would lead to overheating? Perhaps the brontothere
and titanothere had a danger of heat exhaustion?
tells us clearly is that it _wasn't_ a change in environmental
conditions which doomed the giant sauropod line: it was competition (in
Siberia, China & NAmerica) & finally the Chicxulub impact (everywhere else)
which did 'em in.
Gary Larson suggests it was cigarette smoking that did in the dinosaurs.
Another good eg of this phenomenom at work is amboreiser, the enormous (& i
do
mean enormous: some where the size of small bears) rat of greater Anguilla.
No
unusual atmospheric situation here; just a total lack of competition, so
that a
few, probably wet & highly bedraggled rattus rattusi grew very big very fast.
Now THAT, I am interested in reading about... So, you're saying that the
fabled R.O.U.S. of 'Princes Bride' fame is alive and well, and hunting for
large wheels of cheddar cheese on Anguilla... hmmm....
-- JHB
==
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