Flowering plants, new teeth and no dinosaurs: New study sheds light on the rise of mammals

(University of Washington) A new study has identified three factors critical in the rise of mammal communities since they first emerged during the Age of Dinosaurs: the rise of flowering plants; the evolution of tribosphenic molars in mammals; and the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs, which reduced competition between mammals and other vertebrates in terrestrial ecosystems.
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - Category: Biology Source Type: news