Barrett P M, Willis K J
Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, UK.
Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc. 2001 Aug;76(3):411-47. doi: 10.1017/s1464793101005735.
Angiosperms first appeared in northern Gondwana during the Early Cretaceous, approximately 135 million years ago. Several authors have hypothesised that the origin of angiosperms, and the tempo and pattern of their subsequent radiation, was mediated by changes in the browsing behaviour of large herbivorous dinosaurs (sauropods and ornithischians). Moreover, the taxonomic and ecological radiation of angiosperms has been associated with the evolution of complex jaw mechanisms among ornithischian dinosaurs. Here, we review critically the evidence for dinosaur-angiosperm interactions during the Cretaceous Period, providing explicit spatiotemporal comparisons between evolutionary and palaeoecological events in both the dinosaur and angiosperm fossil records and an assessment of the direct and indirect evidence for dinosaur diets. We conclude that there are no strong spatiotemporal correlations in support of the hypothesis that dinosaurs were causative agents in the origin of angiosperms; however, dinosaur-angiosperm interactions in the Late Cretaceous may have resulted in some coevolutionary interactions, although direct evidence of such interactions is scanty at present. It is likely that other animal groups (insects, arboreal mammals) had a greater impact on angiosperm diversity during the Cretaceous than herbivorous dinosaurs. Elevated levels of atmospheric CO2 might have played a critical role in the initial stages of the angiosperm radiation.
被子植物最早出现在早白垩世的冈瓦纳大陆北部，大约在1.35亿年前。几位作者推测，被子植物的起源及其随后辐射的速度和模式是由大型食草恐龙（蜥脚类恐龙和鸟脚亚目恐龙）取食行为的变化介导的。此外，被子植物的分类学和生态辐射与鸟脚亚目恐龙复杂颌骨机制的进化有关。在这里，我们批判性地回顾了白垩纪时期恐龙与被子植物相互作用的证据，在恐龙和被子植物化石记录中的进化和古生态事件之间进行了明确的时空比较，并评估了恐龙饮食的直接和间接证据。我们得出结论，没有强有力的时空相关性支持恐龙是被子植物起源的致病因素这一假说；然而，白垩纪晚期恐龙与被子植物的相互作用可能导致了一些协同进化的相互作用，尽管目前这种相互作用的直接证据很少。在白垩纪时期，其他动物群体（昆虫、树栖哺乳动物）可能比食草恐龙对被子植物的多样性产生了更大的影响。大气中二氧化碳水平的升高可能在被子植物辐射的初始阶段起到了关键作用。
