To survive dinosaurs helped small size

Scientists proposed a new explanation of the evolutionary triumph birds: dinosaurs theropods, which gave rise to birds, is the only branch of the dinosaurs, the followers of which over 50 million years continuously decreased in volume.

Becoming midgets in the country of giants, the forefathers of birds took latest ecological niches and learned to climb trees, plan and fly. As a result, data evolutionary innovations helped the birds to survive critical for large dinosaurs meteor cataclysm. Statistical study of the evolution of the forefathers of birds represented in the latest issue of the journal Science.

Michael Lee (Michael S. Y. Lee and his colleagues discussed the evolution 1500 damn anatomy 120 famous science kinds of theropods and the first birds. It was found that the body size in forefathers birds became less than 12 times. Initially, the Central mass of the dinosaurs was 163 kg, and protopic of Archaeopteryx - 0.8 kg.. size Reduction was not stopping in for too long. Taking into account the opinion of the authors, the process and helped to form a unique distinctive features of the avian anatomy: small (relatively rest of the body's head, small teeth and insulating feathers. Miniaturization as delayed development of the dinosaurs, and many birds in consequence remind embryos dinosaurs (the phenomenon is magnified pathomorphism).

Authors notes believe that the driving force data anatomical changes the resettlement of trees (for escape from predators or to search for fresh sources of food). The ancestors of birds then took a larger brain, large eyes for three-dimensional view (not to hit on branches), insulating feathers (for night hunting for insects) and, in the end, extra long forelimbs (future wings, allowing you to jump from tree to tree). It should be noted that similar changes in consequence of the relocation to the trees suffered and portfeli human primates.

sections: Society, World News