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First, thanks for taking the time to write such a
long and speculative essay. Enjoy thinking about it.
I thought someone else would raise this issue, but
since my weekend review didn't show it, I'll ask:
In addition to anatomical factors, is it possible
that large size depends upon a scenario?
That is, large animals have larger offspring, and
probably fewer than smaller animals, which makes the species more
vulnerable to predation of the young.
Could it be that a species is able to achieve
large size when a major predator(s) has become extinct, making it easier for
large size to develop and protection of the young to become more sophisticated
before the threat reappears?
This fits your point about glaciation, and the deep
ocean would have a smaller range of predators near the surface...
Thanks again.
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