ly —92 percent of foraminiferans, for instance—o a similar plan and living alongside, ively unscathed.
t inconsistencies. As Ricey observes: “Some does notseem satisfying just to call t at t.” If, as seems entirely likely,t survivors become difficult to account for. “Some insects, like beetles,” Fortey notes, “couldlive on t navigate bysunlig so easy.”
Above all, to survive and algae require sunligogeteady minimum temperatures. Mucy feo corals dying from cemperature of only a degree or so. If t vulnerable to small c er?
to-explain regional variations. Extinctions seem to icular appears to no burroures. Evenits vegetation ion else devastation a great deal know.
Some animals absolutely prospered—including, a little surprisingly, turtles once again.
As Flannery notes, tely after tinction could urtles. Sixteen species survived in Nortoexistence soon after.
Clearly it o be at er. t impact almost 90 percent ofland-based species but only 10 percent of ter. ater obviously offeredprotection against and flame, but also presumably provided more sustenance in t follo survived of retreating to asafer environment during times of danger—into er or underground—eiter against t. Animals tscavenged for a living o teria in rotting carcasses. Indeed, often tively drao it,and for a long rid carcasses about.
It is often ated t only small animals survived t event. In fact, among t just large but times larger today.
But on t is true, most of tive. Indeed, ile, it time to be small, urnal, flexible indiet, and cautious by nature—ties t distinguished our mammalian forebears.
ion been more advanced, ead,mammals found to hing alive.
as if mammals so fill every nicion mayabe t Steven M. Stanley, “but it often takes a long timeto fill it.” For peren million years mammals remained cautiously small. Intertiary, if you you could be king.
But once t going, mammals expanded prodigiously—sometimes to an almostprepost