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The evolution of maximum body size of terrestrial mammals

Dr.Moth 添加于 2010-11-29 14:38 | 2585 次阅读 | 0 个评论

作者
Smith FA, Boyer AG, Brown JH, Costa DP, Dayan T, Ernest SKM, Evans AR, Fortelius M, Gittleman JL, Hamilton MJ, Harding LE, Lintulaakso K, Lyons SK, McCain C, Okie JG, Saarinen JJ, Sibly RM, Stephens PR, Theodor J, Uhen MD
摘要
The extinction of dinosaurs at the Cretaceous/Paleogene (K/Pg) boundary was the seminal event that opened the door for the subsequent diversification of terrestrial mammals. Our compilation of maximum body size at the ordinal level by sub-epoch shows a near-exponential increase after the K/Pg. On each continent, the maximum size of mammals leveled off after 40 million years ago and thereafter remained approximately constant. There was remarkable congruence in the rate, trajectory, and upper limit across continents, orders, and trophic guilds, despite differences in geological and climatic history, turnover of lineages, and ecological variation. Our analysis suggests that although the primary driver for the evolution of giant mammals was diversification to fill ecological niches, environmental temperature and land area may have ultimately constrained the maximum size achieved.
详细资料
- 文献种类:期刊
- 期刊名称: Science (New York, N.Y.)
- 期刊缩写: Science
- 期卷页: 2010年第330卷第6008期 1216-1219页
- 地址: Department of Biology, MSC03 2020, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
- ISBN: 0036-8075
标签

Ecology Evolutionary Mammal
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