Refer to the Following Information to Answer the Questions Below

Refer to the following information to answer the questions below.
Fossils of Lystrosaurus, a dicynodont therapsid, are most common in parts of modern-day South America, South Africa, Madagascar, India, South Australia, and Antarctica. It apparently lived in arid regions, and was mostly herbivorous. It originated during the mid-Permian period, survived the Permian extinction, and dwindled by the late Triassic, though there is evidence of a relict population in Australia during the Cretaceous. The dicynodonts had two large tusks, extending down from their upper jaws; the tusks were not used for food gathering, and in some species were limited to males. Food was gathered using an otherwise toothless beak. Judging from the fossil record, these pig-sized organisms were the most common mammal-like reptiles of the Permian.
-If an increase in dicynodont species diversity (i.e., number of species) occurred soon after the Permian extinction, and if it occurred for the same general reason usually given for the increase in mammalian diversity following the Cretaceous extinction, then it should be attributed to

A) an innovation among the dicynodonts that allowed them to fill brand new niches.
B) the availability of previously occupied niches.
C) the extinction of the dinosaurs (except the birds) .
D) the evolution of humans.