If it is carnivorous, better small

2004/01/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Ekologia

(Photo: J. R. Aihartza).

If you are carnivorous, being big is not so good. According to a study with American fossils, the Cannids tended to grow. This forced them to resort to larger dams and extinguish them earlier.

The research base has been another 1999 study. Then, they studied the current carnivorous species and concluded that the diet of carnivorous species of more than 21,5 kilos is different from that of the smaller ones. In fact, instead of eating anything less than their weight, they hunt prey larger than them. That is, they are hypercarnivores.

Now, Blaire Van Valkenburgh has researched the fossils of North American cannids to check if it happened in the past and analyze the long-term consequences. And yes, in the past it was as well. In addition, it has concluded that hypercarnivores became extinct in 5 million years or less, while lesser and omnivorous carnivores lasted 12 million years.