- 13 Apr 2021 08:29
#15166348
Indeed. But even sheer dumb (bad) luck can be thought of as a failure to be resilient enough to adapt to rapidly changing environmental conditions. After all, there's a reason the non-avian dinosaurs did not survive the asteroid impact, yet the crocodiles did. The non-avian dinosaurs had specialised in a lifestyle which was hugely successful in the stable environment of the Cretaceous, yet was fundamentally fragile if that environment were to radically and suddenly change. In other words, they had 'adapted' themselves into extinction.
Doug64 wrote:@Potemkin, don't forget the part played by sheer dumb luck/acts of God. IIRC, entire species of plants went extinct with the dinosaurs because the asteroid hit after they'd already started germinating. Timing was everything.
Indeed. But even sheer dumb (bad) luck can be thought of as a failure to be resilient enough to adapt to rapidly changing environmental conditions. After all, there's a reason the non-avian dinosaurs did not survive the asteroid impact, yet the crocodiles did. The non-avian dinosaurs had specialised in a lifestyle which was hugely successful in the stable environment of the Cretaceous, yet was fundamentally fragile if that environment were to radically and suddenly change. In other words, they had 'adapted' themselves into extinction.
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