Re: Subterranean strategies

["Adam Britton" <abritton@wmi.com.au>]

From: "Juergen Peters" <GrayB@gmx.de>
Sent: Thursday, July 19, 2001 10:33 AM


> As the discussion deals with K/T survival strategies: Once I have read
> (don't know the source any more) that no animal heavier than 10-20 kgs
> survived the K/T boundary.
> I there really any evidence for this? What about crocodiles, sharks,
> big turtles etc.? Did only survive very small species of these groups?
> Or did bigger ones survive only as eggs (obviously lighter than 10 kgs)?

Why would this be the case? Bigger animals have more resources, and a
greater capacity to survive through trying conditions. A 16 foot crocodile
(500 kg) can survive at least 18 months without a bite to eat, but a 4 ft
croc (20 kg) is lucky to last a quarter of that.

I can't believe that eggs, that incubate in fairly specific conditions for
say 90 days (fairly typical modern example) would be able to survive the
catastrophic conditions that are being implied, when long-lived reptiles
that can go for months without food, could not.

Adam