University of Maryland researcher Thomas Holtz argues that dinosaurs differed fundamentally from mammals in their parenting strategies, with juvenile dinosaurs quickly becoming independent and occupying distinct ecological niches from adults. Because young and adult dinosaurs ate different foods, faced different predators, and inhabited different landscape areas, they functioned as separate species within ecosystems, potentially making Mesozoic environments more ecologically diverse than previously understood.
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University of Maryland researcher Thomas Holtz argues that dinosaurs differed fundamentally from mammals in their parenting strategies, with juvenile dinosaurs quickly becoming independent and occupying distinct ecological niches from adults. Because young and adult dinosaurs ate different foods, faced different predators, and inhabited different landscape areas, they functioned as separate species within ecosystems, potentially making Mesozoic environments more ecologically diverse than previously understood.