Dinosaurs seemed to have generally been so much larger than animals today. Huge dragonflies that dwarf their modern counterparts, turtles 10ft long. What is the mechanism that allowed them to be so large, or conversely makes modern ones smaller? Is it about Oxygen levels, or efficiency, or something else?
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Survivorship bias. There were dinosaurs that were lizard, chicken, and dog sized. Fossilization takes a unique set of circumstances and a long time to replace the minerals in the bones. Large bones are more likely to survive the process. Additionally larger bones are easier to find. A farmer will notice when he breaks his plow on a femur as tall as he is, from a creature as long as a city bus, where smaller bones might just get churned into the soil.
As for the ones that did get big, being large is a good defense. Look at modern megafauna, like elephants and giraffes, for most predators the hide is to thick or the important bits are too far out of reach. It would take a cooperative hunt from large predators, in desperation, to have a slight chance.
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