Question
Here is the question : DURING WHAT GEOLOGIC PERIOD DID MAMMALS BECOME THE DOMINANT ANIMAL GROUP?
Option
Here is the option for the question :
- Tertiary
- Denovian
- Cambrian
- Cretaceous
The Answer:
And, the answer for the the question is :
Explanation:
The Cretaceous and Mesozoic eras were abruptly ended by an asteroid, ushering in the subsequent Tertiary epoch, which is when mammals first appeared. Early mammals benefited from the extensive annihilation of dinosaurs, and life went on after the Great Dying hundreds of millions of years earlier.
Mammals are a diverse and fascinating group of animals that are characterized by a number of unique traits, including the presence of hair or fur, the ability to produce milk to nourish their young, and the possession of a four-chambered heart. While mammals have been present on Earth for over 200 million years, it was not until the Tertiary period that they became the dominant animal group.
The Tertiary period, which lasted from around 65 million to 2.6 million years ago, was a time of significant change and evolution in the natural world. It was during this time that the Earth’s climate began to cool and dry, leading to the expansion of grasslands and the decline of tropical forests. This shift in climate had a profound effect on mammal evolution, favoring those species that were adapted to life on the open savannah.
During the Tertiary period, mammals diversified and evolved to fill a wide range of ecological niches. Some mammals, like the saber-toothed cats and the giant ground sloths, grew to enormous sizes, while others, like the rodents and primates, diversified into a wide range of different forms and lifestyles.
One of the most significant events in mammal evolution during the Tertiary period was the rise of the ungulates, a group of mammals that includes horses, deer, and cattle. These animals evolved to have specialized teeth and digestive systems that allowed them to extract nutrients from tough, fibrous plant matter, making them highly successful in the expanding grasslands.
By the end of the Tertiary period, mammals had become the dominant animal group on Earth, occupying a wide range of environments and ecological niches. This dominance has continued into the present day, with mammals playing important roles in ecosystems around the world.
mammals became the dominant animal group during the Tertiary period, a time of significant change and evolution in the natural world. During this period, mammals diversified and evolved to fill a wide range of ecological niches, with the rise of the ungulates being one of the most significant events in mammal evolution. Today, mammals remain a diverse and important group of animals, occupying a wide range of environments and playing important roles in ecosystems around the world.