For many years, researchers have been debating on dinosaurs’ physical abilities, but it was only recently that a new study has shed light on dinosaurs’ temperature. According to researchers, dinosaurs were not as cold-blooded as scientists believed.
- Researchers’ study on dinosaurs
- Findings of the current research
- Useful conclusions on dinosaurs’ behavior and physical abilities
The current scientific paper was published in the journal of Nature Communication. It is the first study that aims to solve the mystery of dinosaurs’ body temperature. Based on previous studies, researchers wrongfully believed that dinosaurs were cold-blooded hunters like most reptiles today. Scientists at the UCLA College have conducted a new study to put an end to the mystery once and for all.
For the current research, scientists analyzed fossilized dinosaur eggshells, which were collected from Argentina and Mongolia. The chemical structure of the eggshells has enabled scientists to discover the temperature at which the eggshells were formed.
According to Robert Eagle, one of the experts from the Department of Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences at the UCLA College, this new technique has enabled them to find the temperature of female dinosaurs during ovulation. This was for the first time that researchers managed to make such a discovery on the temperature of the theropod body.
Researchers have further discovered that dinosaurs did not have low body temperatures. On the contrary, they were capable of adjusting their body temperatures by sitting in the sun, Eagle has further added. Based on this new piece of information, it can be inferred that dinosaurs were generally more active than modern-day alligators. The latter are active reptiles, but their energy only lasts for brief periods of time.
The study has further enabled scientists to discover that smaller dinosaurs had lower body temperatures. This conclusion has been reached after comparing the temperature of the Argentinian and the Mongolian eggshells.
The 80-million-year-old eggshells that were found in Argentina had 100 degrees Fahrenheit, whereas the Mongolian eggshells, which were approximately 71 million and 75 million years old, had temperatures of 90 degrees Fahrenheit. The Argentinian eggshells belong to the large Titanosaur Sauropods, whereas the Mongolian fossils have been linked to the Tyrannosaurus Rex species of dinosaur, scientists have added.
Researchers will use the new piece of information as a starting ground for other dinosaur-related studies.
Image source: www.pixabay.com
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.