Re: Bugs, Birds, and Biodiversity

["Mark Witton" <Mark.Witton@port.ac.uk>]

Yes. At the heart of this is the observation that Palaeozoic ecosystems are 
very different to the 'modern' biotas of the Mesozoic. The presence of flying 
vertebrates is far from the only difference between the two.

Mark

--

Dr. Mark Witton
www.markwitton.com
Honorary Researcher
Palaeobiology Research Group
School of Earth and Environmental Sciences
University of Portsmouth
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E-mail: Mark.Witton@port.ac.uk

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>>> "Thomas R. Holtz, Jr." <tholtz@umd.edu> 06/06/2012 01:18 >>>
A major issue I have with this study (and one raised by other) is the
assumption that flying predators were (and for that matter, are even
today) the major predators of pterygotes.

One should consider many other options in this:
*Arachnid evolution and the rise and diversification of webs
*Squamate evolution (after all, lizards are major insect predators)
*Mammaliform evolution (again, small mammals are major insect predators)
*Batrachian diversification (ribbit)
*And so forth

Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
Email: tholtz@umd.edu   Phone: 301-405-4084
Office: Centreville 1216
Senior Lecturer, Vertebrate Paleontology
Dept. of Geology, University of Maryland
http://www.geol.umd.edu/~tholtz/ 
Fax: 301-314-9661

Faculty Director, Science & Global Change Program, College Park Scholars
http://www.geol.umd.edu/sgc 
Fax: 301-314-9843

Mailing Address:        Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
                        Department of Geology
                        Building 237, Room 1117
                        University of Maryland
                        College Park, MD 20742 USA