RE: Burrowing/hibernating mammals have lower extinction risk

["Thomas R. Holtz, Jr." <tholtz@umd.edu>]

> From: owner-DINOSAUR@usc.edu [mailto:owner-DINOSAUR@usc.edu] 
> On Behalf Of GUY LEAHY
> 
>  
> I wonder if this could have been a factor at the K/Pg boundary?
>  
> http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/595756
>  

Interesting!

Robertson et al. (2004) highlight a burrowing habit as a likely survival
trait in the first hours of the Cenozoic, while Smith & Botha (2005) suggest
burrowing therapsids (as organisms adapted to dealing with periods of
dysoxia and hypercapnia) may have had a selective advantage over
non-burrowers at the P/Tr event.

Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
Email: tholtz@umd.edu   Phone: 301-405-4084
Office: Centreville 1216                        
Senior Lecturer, Vertebrate Paleontology
Dept. of Geology, University of Maryland
http://www.geol.umd.edu/~tholtz/
Fax: 301-314-9661               

Faculty Director, Earth, Life & Time Program, College Park Scholars
http://www.geol.umd.edu/~jmerck/eltsite/
Fax: 301-405-0796

Mailing Address:        Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
                        Department of Geology
                        Building 237, Room 1117
                        University of Maryland
                        College Park, MD 20742 USA