Story thread · 10 reports / 8 sources

Dinosaurs became giants — so why did they never become tiny?

sciencedaily.com · 2dShare

Dinosaurs conquered the land at enormous sizes, but strangely, they almost never evolved into truly tiny animals. New research suggests that physiology alone can’t explain this missing miniature end of the dinosaur spectrum—and that early mammals may have been partly responsible. While dinosaurs kept mammals from becoming large, small mammals may have returned the favor by occupying ecological niches that could otherwise have supported mouse-sized dinosaurs.

First report: Why were there no tiny dinosaurs? You might blame mammals — stltoday.com, 4d