microrobert
05-31-2015, 09:06 AM
Dinosaurs May Have Been Warm-Blooded After All
Is the debate over dinosaur "blood" finally over?
Generations of scientists previously believed -- and generations of schoolchildren were taught -- that dinosaurs were cold-blooded, like fish, amphibians, and reptiles. Then some scientists began to argue that dinosaurs were warm-blooded, like birds and mammals. Meanwhile, other researchers hypothesized that dinos were "mesotherms," not quite hot-blooded and not quite cold-blooded either.
But now a new paper -- essentially a reanalysis of a 2014 study putting forth the mesothermy theory -- argues that dinosaurs' metabolisms and growth rates were strikingly similar to those of modern-day mammals. In other words, they were warm-blooded after all.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/28/dinosaurs-warm-blooded_n_7455754.html
Is the debate over dinosaur "blood" finally over?
Generations of scientists previously believed -- and generations of schoolchildren were taught -- that dinosaurs were cold-blooded, like fish, amphibians, and reptiles. Then some scientists began to argue that dinosaurs were warm-blooded, like birds and mammals. Meanwhile, other researchers hypothesized that dinos were "mesotherms," not quite hot-blooded and not quite cold-blooded either.
But now a new paper -- essentially a reanalysis of a 2014 study putting forth the mesothermy theory -- argues that dinosaurs' metabolisms and growth rates were strikingly similar to those of modern-day mammals. In other words, they were warm-blooded after all.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/28/dinosaurs-warm-blooded_n_7455754.html