Re: Van Valen's MAXIMAND

John Edser <edser@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote or quoted:

> JE:-
> I agree that biomass has absolutely increased over time. I don't think
> anybody disagrees. However I have never seen any study that verifies
> your claim that "the largest organisms that ever lived are alive today"
> or that "more biomass than ever before is locked up in large
> organisms". It appears to me that "on the face of it" more biomass than
> ever before was locked up in large organisms over the reign of the Dinos
> and not "today".

It's true for animals: the largest species of animal that ever lived is
the blue whale - alive today - e.g.:

``The Blue Whale is not only the largest animal in the world today, it is
the largest animal that ever lived, bigger even than the dinosaurs.''

- http://yahooligans.yahoo.com/content/animals/species/4024.html

In general, the largest organisms are not animals - they are plants and
fungi. These dwarf dinosuars.

Fungi don't fossilise well - and I expect a fossil of some of the world's
largest plants would be similarly difficult to recover whole and intact.

The best hope for evidence on the issue is probably trees - which
fossilise reasonably well, complete with rings sometimes.

AFAIK, today's giant sequoas are not bested by anything found so
far in the fossil record - but maybe that's not very conclusive yet.
--
__________
|im |yler http://timtyler.org/ tim@xxxxxxxxxxx Remove lock to reply.

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Van Valens MAXIMAND
    ... >> I agree that biomass has absolutely increased over time. ... >> anybody disagrees. ... >> ever before was locked up in large organisms over the reign of the ... > It's true for animals: the largest species of animal that ever lived ...
    (sci.bio.evolution)
  • Re: Organic farming is practical on a large scale
    ... > food to feed the world if we adapt our eating patterns. ... > That accounts for ~21% of our arable land. ... >> animals grown and feeding parameters vary. ... IOW, they turn non-useable biomass ...
    (talk.politics.animals)
  • Re: Evomythology
    ... There is more evidence for relatedness between organisms, ... there are Archaeopteryx and other animals linking reptiles and ... birds, but there are no links between birds and fishes, birds and ... existed according to evolution. ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: Organic farming is practical on a large scale
    ... >It is the basis for an estimate of the relative land ... We already grow sufficient food to feed the world. ... >> animals grown and feeding parameters vary. ... they turn non-useable biomass into ...
    (talk.politics.animals)
  • Re: MEAT-EATING has a direct link with - HIGH BP - BRAIN AGING, SHRINKAGE
    ... >> is not harmful to animals or the environment when used as directed.' ... > In the UK, rotenone products are approved for use against aphids on flowers, ... > Other target organisms of rotenone include maggots, bagworms, codling ... And organic farming avoids the use of 'cides. ...
    (sci.med.cardiology)