> At 03:07 AM 5/29/98 EDT, < CALYK@aol.com> wrote:
> >And a big meteor ended the reign--saurs. I heard that if the meteor did not
> >wipe them out (if they hadnt all become extinct), humans couldnt have become,
> >is this true?
>
> Unknown. Does anyone on this list claim this is the case and have a sound
> argument to back it up?
Essentially, since most ecological niches were occupied by very successful
dinosaur species, the only niches in which mammals occpied were as small rodent
types. Only once the meteor wiped out the previous occupants of those niches could
mammals develop to occupy them. Only then could the top predator position be taken
by human beings, millions of years later.
Mike Lorrey