Evolved weapon giants like brontotheres and rhinos mostly went extinct
Evidence
Brontotheres began no larger than modern coyotes, but they rapidly evolved into giants standing eight feet high at the shoulder and weighing twenty thousand pounds. Early brontotheres had no weapons; later species bore broad, flat, bony plates on their noses that could extend more than two feet. Rhinoceroses began small, too—dog-sized—and hornless, diversifying later into enormous animals weighing up to thirty thousand pounds and wielding dramatic weapons. The woolly rhinoceros, for example, had a horn more than six feet long. At their apex, the rhinoceroses comprised more than fifty species worldwide, but most have disappeared, and only four species still survive today. — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 274
Categorization
- QUESTION: Why did most of these heavily armed ungulate clades go extinct while smaller survivors persisted — does extreme weaponry carry a hidden evolutionary cost?
- XREF: connects to: Costly weaponry can drive a species extinct when resources degrade. — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 437; Weapons evolve only when reproductive benefits exceed costs — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 199
Related
- Costly weaponry can drive a species extinct when resources degrade. (similarity 0.85)
- Animal weapons evolved to extremes far beyond practical size (similarity 0.82)
- Predator weapons stay small because larger ones hinder hunting (similarity 0.80)
- Extreme weapons evolved independently across roughly three thousand species (similarity 0.80)
- Species with huge weapons often show weak current selection on them. (similarity 0.78)
Broader Connections
- Costly weaponry can drive a species extinct when resources degrade.
#expands(0.75) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 437 - Weapons evolve only when reproductive benefits exceed costs
#qualifies(0.55) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 199