This is a very interesting thread. . .I initially was going to dismiss it as Sorry, no offense was meant by that remark. Just my
sometimes cynical nature about the DML coming through. . .
And yes, I agree that this is a wonderful way to
explore evolution. . .
I would expect some level of convergence to occur, but I think that understanding the environmental challenges species face is key to making plausible guesses about possible adaptations down the road, much more so than looking at the same species' evolutionary history. So then I have to think about the possibility of some dinosaurs taking to the sea and competing with the already established marine reptiles, things like that. Something I've been pondering is which new niches the dinosaurs and other extinct beasties would have created or exploited. For instance, what about a lacustrine habitat for large dinosaurs (e.g., aquatic sauropods). I think it would be the supreme joke on paleontology if Cenozoic sauropods or hadrosaurs became genuinely aquatic. HP Yates mentions aquatic nodosaurids--I second that idea. Perhaps another branch of the nodosaurids became analogous to the hippopotamus. Andy _______________________________
Andrew A. Farke South Dakota School of Mines and Technology 501 East St. Joseph Street Rapid City, SD 57701 |