A new study by the University of Maryland proposes a re-evaluation of the structure of Mesozoic ecosystems. Paleontologist Thomas R. Holtz Jr., in a paper published in the Italian Journal of Geosciences, argues that dinosaur offspring-rearing strategies differed significantly from those of mammals, fundamentally changing the understanding of ecological diversity at the time. This is reported by UNN.
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The main difference lies in the degree of dependence of the young on their parents. In mammals, offspring require long-term care, and therefore occupy the same ecological niches as adults. In contrast, young dinosaurs became independent relatively quickly. They formed groups of peers and independently foraged for food, leading a lifestyle that Holtz compares to the "kids left home alone" model.
The researcher draws a parallel with modern crocodiles, which guard their nests only in the early stages. Due to such early separation, young and adult individuals of the same species effectively became different "functional species": they had different diets, enemies, and habitats.
A new perspective on Mesozoic biodiversity
This approach forces scientists to re-evaluate the number of inhabitants of ancient ecosystems. If young dinosaurs are considered as separate functional units, then the level of diversity of Mesozoic communities significantly exceeds that of modern mammals. Holtz attributes this efficiency to the high productivity of plant systems at the time and the peculiarities of reptile metabolism.
We should not think that dinosaurs are mammals covered in scales and feathers
The study proves that the prehistoric world functioned according to a unique dynamic that cannot be fully assessed through the prism of modern mammalian biology.
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