{"id":427,"date":"2018-08-27T09:22:13","date_gmt":"2018-08-27T09:22:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/horizon.peachpuff-wolverine-566518.hostingersite.com\/?p=427"},"modified":"2018-08-27T09:25:22","modified_gmt":"2018-08-27T09:25:22","slug":"new-clues-unearthed-about-mammals-rapid-evolution-after-dinosaur-extinction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/427\/new-clues-unearthed-about-mammals-rapid-evolution-after-dinosaur-extinction\/","title":{"rendered":"New clues unearthed about mammals\u2019 rapid evolution after dinosaur extinction"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was a life-altering event. Around 66 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous period, an asteroid struck the Earth, triggering a mass extinction that killed off the dinosaurs and some 75% of all species. Somehow mammals survived, thrived, and became dominant across the planet. Now we have new clues about how that happened.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n
\n
\n

Dr\u00a0Steve Brusatte<\/a>, a palaeontologist at the University of Edinburgh, UK, who previously studied the dinosaurs\u2019 extinction, sought to understand exactly how this event affected mammals and their evolution.<\/p>\n

\u2018I wanted to find out where mammals were living, what were their habits \u2026 and how this exciting period of evolution set the stage for the great diversity of mammals that exists today,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n

His work revealed that while many mammals were wiped out with the dinosaurs, there was also an increase in the diversity and abundance of those that did survive.<\/p>\n

As part of the four-year BRUS project which ended in March, Dr Brusatte and his team collected new fossils dating back to the first million years after the extinction, which is thought to have lasted about\u00a060,000 years<\/a>, and put together a family tree of early mammals.<\/p>\n

They hunted for fossils in New Mexico, US, which is known to have the best record of vertebrate specimens from this period. They collected several new fossils, including the previously unknown\u00a0Kimbetopsalis simmonsae<\/em>, a\u00a0beaver-like<\/a>\u00a0species that lived during the first few\u00a0hundred thousand years after the extinction.<\/p>\n

\n
\"The
The beaver-like Kimbetopsalis simmonsae is one mammal species that lived during the first few hundred thousand years after the dinosaurs died out. Image credit – Sarah Shelley<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

The team also visited museums to explore fossil collections, which allowed them to describe the features of several important mammal species in detail, such as a type of Periptychus, one of the first mammals to prosper after the asteroid struck.<\/p>\n

The specimens that they analysed are also providing an insight into how mammals living right after the extinction are linked to modern ones.<\/p>\n

\u2018Some of today\u2019s familiar mammals, like the groups that later evolved into horses or bats, got their start soon after the extinction and probably as a direct result of it,\u2019 Dr Brusatte said.<\/p>\n

Wiped out<\/strong><\/p>\n

The work supports a growing body of research showing that when the dinosaurs were wiped out, it wasn\u2019t simply a case of one group of animals dying off and another taking over as was previously thought.<\/p>\n

Smaller mammals seemed to be better equipped to survive since they could hide more easily, for example, and those with a diverse diet were able to adapt more quickly, Dr Brusatte said.<\/p>\n

\u2018There isn\u2019t one magic reason why some of them lived and others died,\u2019 he said. \u2018There was probably chance and randomness involved because things changed so quickly after the asteroid hit.\u2019<\/p>\n

The team was surprised to learn how quickly mammals evolved after the extinction. Although the first mammals originated at the same time as the early dinosaurs \u2013 more than 200 million years ago \u2013 they remained small, about the size of badgers, when they co-existed.<\/p>\n

A few\u00a0hundred thousand years after dinosaurs disappeared, there were much larger, cow-sized species. \u2018Mammals just took advantage of the opportunity and started to evolve really fast,\u2019 Dr Brusatte said.<\/p>\n

How they dealt with changes in climate remains a mystery. After the asteroid hit, there were a few years of immediate cooling followed by a few thousand years of global warming where temperatures spiked by 5\u00b0C. Then, over the next 10 million years, temperatures dropped, although the baseline temperature was still much hotter than it is today.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

\u2018Even if dinosaurs hadn\u2019t become extinct, mammals would have prospered anyway because of the change in forest environments.\u2019<\/p>\n

Prof. Christine Janis, University of Bristol, UK<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

In the future, Dr Brusatte and his team want to find out how temperature variations affected mammals – whether they changed in size, expanded or retracted their range, and whether some species became extinct, for example.<\/p>\n

\u2018We want to know these things to understand climate change in our world today,\u2019 Dr Brusatte said. \u2018We just have to collect more fossils.\u2019<\/p>\n

But it wasn’t just dinosaur extinction that influenced the evolution and rise of mammals\u00a0– other environmental factors could also have played an important role.<\/p>\n

A shift in vegetation took place in the last 10 million years or so of the Cretaceous period when flowering plants, such as deciduous trees, started to become more commonplace than the previously widespread conifers and ferns. The animals\u2019 habitat would have become more complex since deciduous trees have an elaborate canopy and understory.<\/p>\n

\u2018Even if dinosaurs hadn\u2019t become extinct, mammals would have prospered anyway because of the change in forest environments,\u2019 said palaeontologist Professor\u00a0Christine Janis<\/a>\u00a0from the University of Bristol in the UK.<\/p>\n

Movement<\/strong><\/p>\n

Prof. Janis and her colleagues decided to investigate whether the change in plant life affected the\u00a0habitat preferences of small mammals. As part of the MDKPAD project, which ran from 2015 until the end of 2017, they looked at mammal bones to deduce whether they lived in the ground or in trees as limb bones reflect locomotor behaviour.<\/p>\n

Previous work had typically examined mammal teeth, which are prevalent in the fossil records, to gain insight into diets from that time. Studies looking at changes in mammals\u2019 limbs were limited to a few complete skeletons so the team set out to see if scraps of skeletons could provide similar information.<\/p>\n

Whole fossils of small mammals from that era are rare. So Prof. Janis used around 500 bone fragments that she found in museums in North America, where the best collections from the late Cretaceous are found.<\/p>\n

But before she could start her analysis, she first had to understand existing mammals to figure out how the shape of different parts of their bones, mainly the articulation of their joints, relate to arboreal or terrestrial lifestyles.<\/p>\n

\u2018You\u2019ve got to have a comparative database,\u2019 said Prof. Janis, who set out to create one. \u2018That\u2019s not something that existed.\u2019<\/p>\n

\n
\"Fossilised
Fossilised finger and toe bones from the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology in Canada have helped determine the lifestyle of early mammals. Image credit – Prof. Christine Janis<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Prof. Janis has now collected details of the bones of about 100 small living mammals and catalogued them. She found that pieces of joints, which also happen to be preserved more often since they are more dense, can reveal a small animal\u2019s mode of locomotion with a good degree of confidence.<\/p>\n

Certain joints, like the elbow and knee, showed similar anatomical correlations to those of small living animals, so these could be used to identify the locomotive behaviour linked to a fossil.<\/p>\n

Surprisingly, mammal bones from the last 10 million years of the Cretaceous period showed that most were generalised but a few very arboreal, with limbs similar to those of modern primates. \u2018I was expecting all of the animals to be more like squirrels and not quite as specialised,\u2019 Prof. Janis said.<\/p>\n

The bones of extinct mammals suggest they became more terrestrial in the early Paleogene, the period after the Cretaceous. Prof. Janis thinks it\u2019s because of an increase in understory vegetation. \u2018Bushes and shrubs beneath the tree canopy were now a more suitable habitat for these small mammals,\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n

Although Prof. Janis does not plan to further the project, she will make her bone database available to other researchers. This database could help scientists determine the behaviour of individual species, locomotive changes in communities over time, and allow for local and global environmental changes to be tracked.<\/p>\n

\u2018The powerful thing about this data is that you don\u2019t need to have pristine skeletons (to do comparisons),\u2019 she said. \u2018You can have scrappy data and still get results from it.\u2019<\/p>\n

Originally published on Horizon<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It was a life-altering event. Around 66 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous period, an asteroid struck the Earth, triggering a mass extinction that killed off the dinosaurs and some 75% of all species. Somehow mammals survived, thrived, and became dominant across the planet. Now we have new clues about how that … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":318,"featured_media":428,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[122,4,68,71,79,24],"class_list":["post-427","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-earth-energy-environment","tag-cultural-heritage","tag-environment","tag-evolution","tag-genetics","tag-research","tag-science"],"yoast_head":"\nNew clues unearthed about mammals\u2019 rapid evolution after dinosaur extinction - Horizon Magazine Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/427\/new-clues-unearthed-about-mammals-rapid-evolution-after-dinosaur-extinction\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New clues unearthed about mammals\u2019 rapid evolution after dinosaur extinction\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It was a life-altering event. Around 66 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous period, an asteroid struck the Earth, triggering a mass extinction that killed off the dinosaurs and some 75% of all species. Somehow mammals survived, thrived, and became dominant across the planet. Now we have new clues about how that ... Read more\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/427\/new-clues-unearthed-about-mammals-rapid-evolution-after-dinosaur-extinction\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Horizon Magazine Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-08-27T09:22:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-08-27T09:25:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/08\/tyrannosaurus-rex-header.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"894\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sandrine Ceurstemont\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sandrine Ceurstemont\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/427\\\/new-clues-unearthed-about-mammals-rapid-evolution-after-dinosaur-extinction\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/427\\\/new-clues-unearthed-about-mammals-rapid-evolution-after-dinosaur-extinction\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Sandrine Ceurstemont\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/62926b1f1e18de0f2413a0479d6f2899\"},\"headline\":\"New clues unearthed about mammals\u2019 rapid evolution after dinosaur extinction\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-08-27T09:22:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-08-27T09:25:22+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/427\\\/new-clues-unearthed-about-mammals-rapid-evolution-after-dinosaur-extinction\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1311,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/427\\\/new-clues-unearthed-about-mammals-rapid-evolution-after-dinosaur-extinction\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2018\\\/08\\\/tyrannosaurus-rex-header.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Cultural heritage\",\"environment\",\"evolution\",\"genetics\",\"research\",\"science\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Earth, Energy & Environment\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2018\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/427\\\/new-clues-unearthed-about-mammals-rapid-evolution-after-dinosaur-extinction\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/427\\\/new-clues-unearthed-about-mammals-rapid-evolution-after-dinosaur-extinction\\\/\",\"name\":\"New clues unearthed about mammals\u2019 rapid evolution after dinosaur extinction - Horizon Magazine Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/427\\\/new-clues-unearthed-about-mammals-rapid-evolution-after-dinosaur-extinction\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/427\\\/new-clues-unearthed-about-mammals-rapid-evolution-after-dinosaur-extinction\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2018\\\/08\\\/tyrannosaurus-rex-header.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-08-27T09:22:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-08-27T09:25:22+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/427\\\/new-clues-unearthed-about-mammals-rapid-evolution-after-dinosaur-extinction\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/427\\\/new-clues-unearthed-about-mammals-rapid-evolution-after-dinosaur-extinction\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/427\\\/new-clues-unearthed-about-mammals-rapid-evolution-after-dinosaur-extinction\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2018\\\/08\\\/tyrannosaurus-rex-header.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2018\\\/08\\\/tyrannosaurus-rex-header.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":894,\"caption\":\"The extinction of the dinosaurs paved the way for today's mammalian diversity. Image credit - Petr Kratochvil\\\/ Public Domain Pictures\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/427\\\/new-clues-unearthed-about-mammals-rapid-evolution-after-dinosaur-extinction\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"New clues unearthed about mammals\u2019 rapid evolution after dinosaur extinction\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/\",\"name\":\"Horizon Magazine Blog\",\"description\":\"The EU Research & Innovation Magazine\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Horizon Magazine Blog\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/eu-logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/eu-logo.jpg\",\"width\":601,\"height\":283,\"caption\":\"Horizon Magazine Blog\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/62926b1f1e18de0f2413a0479d6f2899\",\"name\":\"Sandrine Ceurstemont\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f9d88a5b9c99d2b9bd5d4742410845a80902fbe94125c2b74f4dddf70327ad55?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f9d88a5b9c99d2b9bd5d4742410845a80902fbe94125c2b74f4dddf70327ad55?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f9d88a5b9c99d2b9bd5d4742410845a80902fbe94125c2b74f4dddf70327ad55?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Sandrine Ceurstemont\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/author\\\/sandrineceurstemont\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"New clues unearthed about mammals\u2019 rapid evolution after dinosaur extinction - Horizon Magazine Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/427\/new-clues-unearthed-about-mammals-rapid-evolution-after-dinosaur-extinction\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"New clues unearthed about mammals\u2019 rapid evolution after dinosaur extinction","og_description":"It was a life-altering event. Around 66 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous period, an asteroid struck the Earth, triggering a mass extinction that killed off the dinosaurs and some 75% of all species. Somehow mammals survived, thrived, and became dominant across the planet. Now we have new clues about how that ... Read more","og_url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/427\/new-clues-unearthed-about-mammals-rapid-evolution-after-dinosaur-extinction\/","og_site_name":"Horizon Magazine Blog","article_published_time":"2018-08-27T09:22:13+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-08-27T09:25:22+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":894,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/08\/tyrannosaurus-rex-header.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Sandrine Ceurstemont","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Sandrine Ceurstemont","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/427\/new-clues-unearthed-about-mammals-rapid-evolution-after-dinosaur-extinction\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/427\/new-clues-unearthed-about-mammals-rapid-evolution-after-dinosaur-extinction\/"},"author":{"name":"Sandrine Ceurstemont","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#\/schema\/person\/62926b1f1e18de0f2413a0479d6f2899"},"headline":"New clues unearthed about mammals\u2019 rapid evolution after dinosaur extinction","datePublished":"2018-08-27T09:22:13+00:00","dateModified":"2018-08-27T09:25:22+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/427\/new-clues-unearthed-about-mammals-rapid-evolution-after-dinosaur-extinction\/"},"wordCount":1311,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/427\/new-clues-unearthed-about-mammals-rapid-evolution-after-dinosaur-extinction\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/08\/tyrannosaurus-rex-header.jpg","keywords":["Cultural heritage","environment","evolution","genetics","research","science"],"articleSection":["Earth, Energy & Environment"],"inLanguage":"en-US","copyrightYear":"2018","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/427\/new-clues-unearthed-about-mammals-rapid-evolution-after-dinosaur-extinction\/","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/427\/new-clues-unearthed-about-mammals-rapid-evolution-after-dinosaur-extinction\/","name":"New clues unearthed about mammals\u2019 rapid evolution after dinosaur extinction - Horizon Magazine Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/427\/new-clues-unearthed-about-mammals-rapid-evolution-after-dinosaur-extinction\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/427\/new-clues-unearthed-about-mammals-rapid-evolution-after-dinosaur-extinction\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/08\/tyrannosaurus-rex-header.jpg","datePublished":"2018-08-27T09:22:13+00:00","dateModified":"2018-08-27T09:25:22+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/427\/new-clues-unearthed-about-mammals-rapid-evolution-after-dinosaur-extinction\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/427\/new-clues-unearthed-about-mammals-rapid-evolution-after-dinosaur-extinction\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/427\/new-clues-unearthed-about-mammals-rapid-evolution-after-dinosaur-extinction\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/08\/tyrannosaurus-rex-header.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/08\/tyrannosaurus-rex-header.jpg","width":1280,"height":894,"caption":"The extinction of the dinosaurs paved the way for today's mammalian diversity. Image credit - Petr Kratochvil\/ Public Domain Pictures"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/427\/new-clues-unearthed-about-mammals-rapid-evolution-after-dinosaur-extinction\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"New clues unearthed about mammals\u2019 rapid evolution after dinosaur extinction"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#website","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/","name":"Horizon Magazine Blog","description":"The EU Research & Innovation Magazine","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#organization","name":"Horizon Magazine Blog","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/04\/eu-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/04\/eu-logo.jpg","width":601,"height":283,"caption":"Horizon Magazine Blog"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#\/schema\/person\/62926b1f1e18de0f2413a0479d6f2899","name":"Sandrine Ceurstemont","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f9d88a5b9c99d2b9bd5d4742410845a80902fbe94125c2b74f4dddf70327ad55?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f9d88a5b9c99d2b9bd5d4742410845a80902fbe94125c2b74f4dddf70327ad55?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f9d88a5b9c99d2b9bd5d4742410845a80902fbe94125c2b74f4dddf70327ad55?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Sandrine Ceurstemont"},"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/author\/sandrineceurstemont\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/08\/tyrannosaurus-rex-header.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgtNKV-6T","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1651,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1651\/qa-climate-monitoring-pandemic-insight-decomposition-what-insects-do-for-us\/","url_meta":{"origin":427,"position":0},"title":"Q&A: Climate monitoring, pandemic insight, decomposition \u2013 what insects do for us","author":"Horizon Magazine","date":"March 1, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Insects are vital to the health of our planet but they can also reveal a lot about climate change and help us fight future vector-borne disease outbreaks, says Alexey Solodovnikov, an associate professor at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, who runs the rove beetle-dedicated\u00a0Solodovnikov Lab\u00a0and is a\u00a0curator\u00a0at the Natural History\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Earth, Energy & Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Earth, Energy & Environment","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/earth-energy-environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/03\/genus-%E2%80%93-credit-Aslak-Kappel-Hansen.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/03\/genus-%E2%80%93-credit-Aslak-Kappel-Hansen.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/03\/genus-%E2%80%93-credit-Aslak-Kappel-Hansen.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/03\/genus-%E2%80%93-credit-Aslak-Kappel-Hansen.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/03\/genus-%E2%80%93-credit-Aslak-Kappel-Hansen.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/03\/genus-%E2%80%93-credit-Aslak-Kappel-Hansen.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1290,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1290\/the-evolution-of-biodiversity-ever-increasing-or-did-it-hit-a-ceiling\/","url_meta":{"origin":427,"position":1},"title":"The evolution of biodiversity: ever-increasing or did it hit a ceiling?","author":"Horizon Magazine","date":"May 20, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"By Gareth Willmer Preserving biodiversity is one of the key debates of our time \u2013 but another subject of hot debate in recent decades among evolutionary experts is how biodiversity has changed over the past few hundred million years. New findings are challenging the conventional view on this. Increasing knowledge\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Earth, Energy & Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Earth, Energy & Environment","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/earth-energy-environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Using the fossil record to estimate the levels of biodiversity is still a challenge given that we have more fossils from the recent past and as we go back deeper in time, none have been found for entire continents. Image credit - James St. John\/Flickr, licenced under CC BY 2.0","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/05\/mammal.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/05\/mammal.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/05\/mammal.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/05\/mammal.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":493,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/493\/models-of-dinosaur-movement-could-help-us-build-stronger-robots-and-buildings\/","url_meta":{"origin":427,"position":2},"title":"Models of dinosaur movement could help us build stronger robots and buildings","author":"Sandrine Ceurstemont","date":"October 9, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"From about 245 to 66 million years ago, dinosaurs roamed the Earth. Although well-preserved skeletons give us a good idea of what they looked like, the way their limbs worked remains a bigger mystery. But computer simulations may soon provide a realistic glimpse into how some species moved and inform\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "ICT"","block_context":{"text":"ICT","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/ict\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Researchers are using computer simulations to estimate how 11 different species of extinct archosaurs such as the batrachotomus might have moved.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/10\/batrachotomus_3D.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/10\/batrachotomus_3D.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/10\/batrachotomus_3D.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/10\/batrachotomus_3D.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/10\/batrachotomus_3D.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/10\/batrachotomus_3D.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":941,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/941\/941\/","url_meta":{"origin":427,"position":3},"title":"Fossil colour studies are changing our idea of how dinosaurs looked","author":"Horizon Magazine","date":"August 29, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"by Gareth Willmer What colour were the dinosaurs? If you have a picture in your head, fresh studies suggest you may need to revise it. New fossil research also suggests that pigment-producing structures go beyond how the dinosaurs looked and may have played a fundamental role inside their bodies too.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Earth, Energy & Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Earth, Energy & Environment","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/earth-energy-environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"In-depth fossil analysis could help us understand the true functions of colour. Image credit: Aline Dassel\/Pixabay, licensed under Pixabay licence","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/08\/dinosaurheadfossil.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/08\/dinosaurheadfossil.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/08\/dinosaurheadfossil.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/08\/dinosaurheadfossil.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/08\/dinosaurheadfossil.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/08\/dinosaurheadfossil.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":853,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/853\/why-meerkats-and-mongooses-have-a-cooperative-approach-to-raising-their-pups\/","url_meta":{"origin":427,"position":4},"title":"Why meerkats and mongooses have a cooperative approach to raising their pups","author":"Richard Gray","date":"June 27, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Raising children can be a tough job, especially when doing it alone, but some animals like meerkats and mongooses work together to raise their young. Studies of these cooperative creatures are revealing how this highly social behaviour evolved and is shedding light on the roots of our own species\u2019 collaborative\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Earth, Energy & Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Earth, Energy & Environment","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/earth-energy-environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Mongooses, like humans, are among the few mammals that go to war with each another. Image credit - Harry Marshall","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/06\/BM-fight2_Image_Harry_Marshall_small.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/06\/BM-fight2_Image_Harry_Marshall_small.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/06\/BM-fight2_Image_Harry_Marshall_small.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/06\/BM-fight2_Image_Harry_Marshall_small.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/06\/BM-fight2_Image_Harry_Marshall_small.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/06\/BM-fight2_Image_Harry_Marshall_small.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2439,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/2439\/animal-heredity-sheds-light-on-survival-and-extinction-risks\/","url_meta":{"origin":427,"position":5},"title":"Animal heredity sheds light on survival and extinction risks","author":"Horizon Magazine","date":"July 26, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"As biodiversity declines and causes reductions in the genetic variation of animals, historic genomes offer clues for conservation. By\u00a0\u00a0MICHAEL ALLEN As recently as the early 1800s, thousands of Seychelles paradise flycatcher birds lived on at least five islands off the southeast coast of Africa. By the 1960s, just 28 of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Earth, Energy & Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Earth, Energy & Environment","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/earth-energy-environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/07\/26.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/07\/26.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/07\/26.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/07\/26.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/318"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=427"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/428"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}