Re: gigantism as liability

[Andreas Johansson <andreasj@gmail.com>]

On Mon, Oct 27, 2008 at 7:02 PM, Erik Boehm <erikboehm07@yahoo.com> wrote:
<snip>
> Dicynodonts got pretty big in the Triassic didn't they? Mammals certainly are 
> better adapted to large size, at least concerning posture -erect limbs will 
> support weight better, yet it seems previous synapsids became larger than the 
> extant ones.
>

A swift look round the 'Net seems to confirm my recollection that the
biggest known dicynodonts were the size of an ox or a rhino - much
smaller than than an Recent savanna elephants.

(There are fossil synapsids larger than savanna elephants, but
they're, AFAIK, all crown mammals.)

-- 
Andreas Johansson

Why can't you be a non-conformist just like everybody else?