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No More Reptiles; Reptiles gone 65 MYA
Topic Started: Nov 26 2009, 10:57 PM (1,340 Views)
Black_Panther
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Hi, everyone.
I've been plagued by a few ideas during the last weeks, so, now i want to ask something that i've found interesting.
What if all reptiles were wiped out along with the dinosaurs?
I mean, no snakes, turtles, lizards or crocodiles. How would mammals, birds and other lifeforms evolve and what would change?
I need ideas, because i'm thinking about turning this into a project.
http://spidervenom022.deviantart.com

Go in there for some odd stuff that could make you puke, and ask for some free sketches. :)
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Cynovolans
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I'm not sure how you are going to have all reptiles die out, but any way since a large amount of reptiles eat primarily insects you could see mammals and birds replacing this role. The birds and mammals doing that would require fast metabolisms, shrews and moles are mammals that are already almost entirely insectivores. You would see more of those, especially more that spend most of their time above ground. Birds would need to become smaller and faster, similar to a hummingbird in order to replace the insectivore niche.

Since most snakes hunt small animals like rodents, or small birds you wouldn't need to change much about birds and mammals today. Maybe more that can survive in harsher climates, and a few semi-aquatic mammals and birds that would eat frogs.

Crocodiles could be more challenging to replace, particularly those living in fresh water environments as they eat the fish there and I don't really know any birds or mammals that eat fish like crocs do. There are birds that eat primarily fish but I wouldn't imagine they'd do it on the same scale as crocs.

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Even
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If they were no reptiles,there wouldn't be any birds and mammals right?
Currently a part of Specworld's revival and The Dark Phoenix's Dinosaur Spec... Still open for idea exchanges and commentaries

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The Dodo
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Birds can be classified as reptiles, I think mammals are different.
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Iowanic
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I believe the premise was that the reptiles bit the big one 65 million years ago. By that time, mammals were already on the scene.

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Carlos
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Crocodiles are very EASY to replace; just add giant pikes everywhere that had water
Lemuria:
http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/topic/5724950/

Terra Alternativa:
http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/forum/460637/

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The Dodo
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Yes, well pikes don't live on every continent.
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Canis Lupis
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Dinosaurs eat man, woman inherits the Earth.

Yeah. I'd imagine you'd have different things replacing crocs on different continents. Otters maybe.
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Venatosaurus
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OR you could replace them with ambulocetids or ambulocetid-like mammals with slower metabolisms ;)



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ATEK Azul
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I think the ancestors of whales would still be here as Crocodillian replacements(if that is what Venatosaurus said sorry for repeating I forgot the scientific name).

Also Snakes might be replaced by those serpentine amphibians in some places?

Another idea is that Monotremes might spread having a simular stance to reptiles. Maybe they could replace some lizards?
I am dyslexic, please ignore the typo's!
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Venatosaurus
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Yup, ATEK those are the whale ancestors :D But I really like that monotreme idea, as they are well suited to tackle such invertabrates. I can already imagine the array of such monotreme forms !



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ATEK Azul
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Okay thanks for clearing that up.

I am also glad some one likes the monotreme idea I thought it might be a little too silly for most people here.
I am dyslexic, please ignore the typo's!
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The Dodo
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I must say I like the monotreme idea as well since they only seem to eat invertebrates on HE.

I'm not so sure about the amphibian snakes since they're restricited to be close to water, unless they evolve away to break their tie.
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Ddraig Goch
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Ar hyd y nos

I guess this means no Secretary Birds, either. Oh well.

I wonder how human society would change, if this was some parrallel universe.
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Black_Panther
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Ddraig Goch
Nov 29 2009, 04:45 PM
I guess this means no Secretary Birds, either. Oh well.

I wonder how human society would change, if this was some parrallel universe.
Actually, birds continue to exist...they were around before the K-T event.
http://spidervenom022.deviantart.com

Go in there for some odd stuff that could make you puke, and ask for some free sketches. :)
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