Endothermy in synapsids and archosaurs
“Highlights
- Birds and mammals likely acquired endothermy (warm-bloodedness) at the same time
- This time was the Early Triassic, as suggested by phylogenetic macroevolutionary studies of both archosaurs and synapsids
- Life remodelled itself most significantly in the aftermath of the devastating end-Permian mass extinction
- The switchover happened in parallel with a shift in posture from sprawling to parasagittal in both major lineages
- Cynodonts and avemetatarsalian archosaurs engaged in arms races through the Triassic, as their metabolic rates speeded up”