Word: oxygen-poor
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1958-1958
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Burnout. The dinosaurs evolved in this oxygen-poor atmosphere and were adjusted to it, but when the angiosperms (modern broad-leaved plants and grasses) became dominant, the dinosaurs were headed for trouble. The vigorous angiosperms excreted so much oxygen that they changed the atmosphere. The oxygen-rich air increased the metabolism of the dinosaurs. They were compelled to live at a faster rate, and they could not gather the vast amounts of food their speeded-up bodies called for. So they burned out and died out, while the newly evolved mammals, well-adapted to oxygen-rich air, took over...