/data/photo/2022/03/19/62358cad8fb19.jpg "After the extinction of the dinosaurs, mammals grew in size to survive")
KOMPAS.com – A new study reveals that after the extinction dinosaur, mammal choose to prioritize size increase body they instead develop brain the bigger one.
The study mentions that during the first ten million years, dinosaur extinctionmammals did so to adapt to radical changes in the makeup of the animal kingdom on Earth.
In a study published in the journal Scienceresearchers found facts about size mammal brain compared to their weight.
Brain mammals decline after disaster asteroid collisions What happened 66 million years ago wiped out the dinosaurs.
Also read: 42 million-year-old tooth fossil reveals first sword-toothed mammal
The finding of mammals growing in body size compared to their brains has provided new insight because it was previously thought that mammalian brains grew over time after the extinction of the dinosaurs.
In addition, the findings provide insight into the evolution of the brain.
Although much is known about mammalian brain evolution modern species, but it is not clear how they developed in the first few million years after the mass extinction.
quote PhysFriday (1/4/2022) the conclusion of this study was obtained after a team from the University of Edinburgh carried out CT scans on newly discovered fossils from the period 10 million years after the extinction (Paleocene).
The CT scan results later showed that the relative brain size of mammals initially decreased, due to mammal body size increased at a much faster rate after the extinction of the dinosaurs.
Also read: Researchers Find Fossils of the World’s Largest Land Mammal, Like What?
The scans also show that animals rely heavily on their sense of smell, while sight and other senses are less well developed.
This suggests that in the beginning it was more important to be big than smart to survive in the post-dinosaur era.
It wasn’t until about 10 million years later that early members of modern mammalian groups such as primates began to develop larger brains and a more complex range of senses and motor skills.
This will increase their chances of survival at a time when competition for resources is much greater.
The researchers further called the idea that the cerebrum is always better for surviving in a new environment and that extinction is not correct.
Also read: 6 Most Dangerous Mammals, Cause Hundreds of Deaths Per Year
“The large size of the brain requires complex maintenance, so if it is not needed to obtain resources it may actually be detrimental to the survival of mammals after the impact of the asteroid impact,” said Dr. Ornella Bertrand, principal investigator from the University of Edinburgh.
Today’s mammals are so intelligent that it’s easy to assume that large brains helped our ancestors outlive the dinosaurs and survive extinction. But it turned out not to be so.
“Mammals who came to power after the extinction of the dinosaurs were initially quite stupid. Millions of years later many new types of mammals developed larger brains as they competed with each other to form new ecosystems,” explains Steve Brusatte, another researcher involved in the study.
Collecting and scanning many fossils has indeed led to a new understanding of what life and the evolution of the mammalian brain looked like.
Also read: Steller’s Sea Cow, a Marine Mammal That Was Extinct in Less Than Three Decades
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