Re: Cretaceous taeniodont

["David Marjanovic" <david.marjanovic@gmx.at>]

> So, a statistical
> question: at what point can we conclude there was some relaxation on size
> constraints of those animals at that time?  How  many species need to be
> above, say, one kg. before we can say predation and/or competition was no
> longer keeping mammals small?  Would one more do it?  Two?

Even three thousand would not do it. Why? Because we have next to no
information about the mammal diversity of the rest of the world. Much the
same holds for time (though AFAIK "Judithian" mammal assemblages from
western North America are pretty diverse, too).

And then there's always *Repenomamus*, bigger than any of the three and
roughly 50 million years older, and coexisting with *Gobiconodon* which
reached the above dimensions.

> Also, if any of these mammals were burrowers
> what are the chances we would find their burrowers?

Their burrows? No idea.