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No. By the time the dinosaurs went extinct mammals still played a relatively minor role ecologically. It is generally accepted that an asteroid or comet struck the earth, causing ecosystems to collapse worldwide and resulting the extinction of many groups of animals including the dinosaurs.
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∙ 12y ago
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∙ 10y agoIn the Mesozoic era, most ecological niches for higher animals were filled by reptiles. With their extinction around 66 million years ago, most of the niches were available for mammals, including herbivores, carnivores, and insectivores. Mammals, which create their own body heat, were better prepared to exist in temperate and cold climates than cold-blooded reptiles.
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∙ 11y agoThe mammals didn't survive the dinosaur extinction. Mammals didn't exist until 60 million years after the dinosaurs died out.
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What are mammals in mesozoic era?
Most mammals were much smaller than the dinosaurs and they were therefore better able to adapt to the conditions that brought the dinosaurs down. For example, a large dinosaur that ate vegetation would have died very soon if most vegetation was wiped out in a catastrophic event. Small mammals could still dig and forgage and make do with roots. It must have been horrific for everything alive at that time, but the very small creatures had the edge.
251 million years ago what dominated the earth?
During the time period known as the Triassic period, reptiles dominated the Earth. Particularly, archosaurs, which included early dinosaur ancestors and crocodile-like creatures, were common. This period also saw the rise of the first mammals and the proliferation of various marine life forms.
What major animal group replaced the dinosaurs and reptiles in the Cenozoic Era?
mammals The mass extinction that occurred at the end of the Cretaceous period left a lot of empty spaces for the surviving animals to fill. Lizards and crocodilians were around, but in general, land life in the earliest millennia of the Cenozoic was sparse. No animals really replaced the dinosaurs in the early years of the Paleocene epoch, but if you're asking which of the tetrapods eventually took over, I think it's a tossup between the birds and the mammals, depending on which continent you're considering and how a many millions of years you wish to traverse. In presumptive South America and Europe, the mammals were primarily small insectivores and/or herbivores; based on the fossil evidence, none had teeth that were designed for cutting meat. The birds that survived the extinction pulses vied with the mammals for dominance and the issue swung back and forth for millennia. By the late Paleocene, in Europe and South America, huge, very obnoxious-looking birds - some as tall as 7-8 feet with huge, very aggressive bills - became the dominant meat-eaters. In Asia, this seems not to have been the case. .
What did Birds evolved from?
The general consensus is that they evolved from a group of small theropod dinosaurs.
What are the five largest mass extinction events in the history of life on Earth?
There were 5 major times in history that mass extinctions occured. These were in the: 1) Late Ordovician 2) Devonian 3) End of the Permian 4) Late Triassic 5) End of the Cretaceous The Permian extinction was the largest and killed off 90% of the Earth's species. The cause is believed to be related to life already being stressed by a very dry climate, accompanied by prolonged periods of volcanic activity (the Siberia flood basalts). The End Cretaceous extintion is the most famous as it is what ended the dinosaurs. The most common belief is that the cause was a 11km wide comet striking the Earth. However this is hottly debated as at the same time their was also a long period of volcanic activity in what is now India (the Decan Traps). Also some say that the rise of small mammals ended the dinosaurs by raiding their nests. It is possible that all these played a role. The exact cause of many mass extintions is still being activly studied and debated by scientists
During which era did mammals become common?
Mammals became the dominant land animals in the early Paleocene period of the Cenozoic era, after the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous period of the Mesozoic era.
Why weren't dinosaurs and cavemen together?
There was a mass extinction, killing of the dinosaurs before early hominids (humans) came along.
If humans evolved from the sea where did the dinosaurs evolve from?
Humans evolved from mammals like dinosaurs such as dimetrodon. All Vertebrate's evolved from the sea, Dinosaurs and Humans alike (the first were neither Reptiles nor Mammals but Tetrapods). These Tetrapods were the first to make the move from ocean to land: At the time of the Dinosaurs the only Mammals were tiny mouse like creatures unable to increase in size and complexity due to the domination of the Dinosaurs - that small size helped the early mammals to survive underground whilst the Dinos perished during the extinction event. And the rest, is history!
Did mammals appear in the fossil record after dinosaurs became extinct?
No, mammals lived alongside dinosaurs and their earliest known fossils of about 200 million years old are almost contemporary with the early dinosaur fossils.
What type of animals were seen in Prehistoric art work?
Dinosaurs and early Mammals were seen in early artwork. Prehistoric birds were featured too.
Did the dinosaurs truly die out 65 millions of years?
All scientific evidence points to the fact that dinosaurs died out 65.5 million years ago, with the exception of birds. Birds evolved from dinosaurs in the late Jurassic to the early Cretaceous, and thus are considered a type of dinosaur. Of course, birds survived the K-T extinction and thrive today (there are more species of birds known than mammals).
When did the first dinosaurs and mammals evolve?
The first dinosaurs AND the first mammals both appeared in the Triassic period From the Mesozoic era.
Why was dinosaurs around?
Actually dinosaurs and mammals began at about the same time (some 200 million years ago) and lived side by side for millions of years ... but the dinos won and wiped out all the early mammals except for the little, nocturnal ones like mice (our ancestors).
What was it like when the dinosaurs were around?
When the dinosaurs existed, the world was much warmer than it is today. There were many warm, shallow seas. The primary plants included conifers, tree ferns, cycads, and, during the Jurassic, ginkgos. In the early Cretaceous, the last period when non avian dinosaurs lived, the first flowering plants appeared, and, before the extinction of the dinosaurs, early grasses grew near riverbeds, and there were palms and Magnolids. Besides dinosaurs, there were pterosaurs in the sky, and icthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, mosasars, and thalattosuchians lived in the oceans. Many modern animal groups, such as mammals, birds, crocodillians, turtles, frogs, and salamanders evolved during the time that non avian dinosaurs existed.
Are there any prehistoric mammals that lived in Nevada?
Yes in the late 1600's and early 1700's dinosaurs roamed the southern part of the country.
Were mastodons alive with the dinosaurs?
No, Mastodons were alive from the late Miocene/early Pliocene until around the end of the Pleistocene, 10,500 years ago give or take. There is nearly 60 million years of time between the extinction of the dinosaurs and the rise of the Mastodon.
Where did prehistoric animals live?
no
