Dino domination was in the cards, maybe
Research suggests that in their early history, dinosaurs were in many ways less successful than their closest relative.
Early dinosaurs got lucky — twice. That’s what led to the age of the dinosaurs, suggests a new study in the Sept. 12 Science.
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Scientists have long hypothesized that early dinosaurs were somehow superior to or outcompeted their closest competitors in order to take over Earth.
But little quantitative evidence exists to support that idea, says lead author of the new study, Stephen Brusatte, who is now a ColumbiaUniversity postdoctoral researcher affiliated with the AmericanMuseum of Natural History in New York.