Niche partitioning shaped herbivore macroevolution through the early Mesozoic.

ABSTRACT: The Triassic (252-201 Ma) marks a major punctuation in Earth history, when ecosystems rebuilt themselves following the devastating Permian-Triassic mass extinction. Herbivory evolved independently several times as ecosystems comprising diverse assemblages of therapsids, parareptiles and archosauromorphs rose and fell, leading to a world dominated by dinosaurs. It was assumed that dinosaurs prevailed either through long-term competitive replacement of the incumbent clades or rapidly and opportunistically following one or more extinction events. Here we use functional morphology and ecology to explore herbivore morphospace through the Triassic and Early Jurassic. We identify five main herbivore guilds (ingestion generalists, prehension specialists, durophagous specialists, shearing pulpers,

SUBMITTER: Singh SA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8121902 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature