Biodiversity

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

EVIDENCE SHOW DINOSAURS WERE WARM-BLOODED ANIMALS

The oldest types of dinosaurs were discovered in Brazil. Some scientists think that, very big dinosaurs could have warm bodies. They are argument among many scientists. Some scientist said that, dinosaurs were warm blooded animals while other scientist said that, dinosaurs were cold blooded animals. Dinosaurs have the ability to control body temperature and maintain it at a constant value. This is the main good advantage that dinosaurs were warm blooded animals(2). E.g. birds and mammals. Some scientist said so because paleoanthropologists think that all dinosaurs were warm blooded animal as modern mammals and birds because they have same metabolic rate. http://www.priweb.org/ed/ICTHOL/ICTHOL04papers/13.htm

Evidence of fossils found in Australia and Antarctica shows that, dinosaurs were warm blooded animals because they can survive in cooler conditions. Although warm blooded animals ate many food. They ate much food in order to provide energy and produce heat. Another evidence of fossils that were found about 230 million years ago, indicate that, dinosaurs were vertebrates animals and the body and characteristics of dinosaurs shows that, dinosaurs were warm blooded animals. Most of the dinosaurs had similar behaviour of birds. According to the scientist, birds are warm blooded animals; it means dinosaurs were warm blooded animals. One can say so, because dinosaurs were more closely related to birds than reptiles. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinosaurs

Richard Owen is the one who named the dinosaurs. He said that, dinosaurs were like reptiles. It is also said that, reptiles were very active and are warm blooded animals. Even now scientist who followed Owen classified dinosaurs as lizard.
Assessment of dinosaurs fossils propose that, dinosaurs were warming blooded. Scientist reasoned said, any animal that growing faster must be warm blooded animal, remember that dinosaurs grow fast. The assessment indicates that, warm blooded animals have vascularized bones tissues. Evidence indicates that, dinosaurs have highly vascularised bones. Evidence of bones and footprints support that, dinosaurs are warm blooded animals.

Shower and Berick comes with the evidence of dinosaurs bones. Isotopes from dinosaurs show that, dinosaurs were warm blooded animals. The bones provided by Shower and Berick indicate that, these bones were composed of minerals, calcium phosphate and the oxygen occurs in the form of isotopes. Because of this evidence provided by these two man, they believed that, dinosaurs were warm blooded animals. The bones of dinosaurs are rich in halversian canals. This halversian canals support nutrients from the blood to the cells.http://www.txtwriter.com/onscience/Articles/dinoblood.html

“Some scientists think that very big dinosaurs could have had warm bodies because of their large body size, just as some sea turtles do today. It may be that some dinosaurs were warm-blooded. The problem is that it is hard to find evidence that unquestionably shows what dinosaur metabolisms were like.” (1). Palaeontologist discovered the evidence fossils of dinosaur’s heart. The heart was discovered in the Northern part of South Dakota and they were discovered in 1993. The hearts has 4 chambers which is similar to birds. The heart shows that, dinosaurs were warm blooded animals. Some dinosaurs were carnivores, herbivores and omnivores. The scientists said that, feathers of dinosaurs were not useful for flight. Feathers of sinosauropteryx indicate that, dinosaurs were warm blooded animals and they used feather to retain heat. http://unmuseum.mus.pa.us/colddino.htm

References
1. Ronald J., Robert E. Weems, and Thomas R. Holtz, Jr, Were dinosaurs warm blooded animal? [Online]. Available from: http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dinosaurs/warmblood.html[2006 May, 11

2. Beverly, E. 2000. Dinosaurs v.s. Warm-blooded?. [Online]. Available: http://www.priweb.org/ed/ICTHOL/ICTHOL04papers/13.htm%20[2006, May 10]
3. Wikipedia Contributors, Dinosaurs [Internet]. Wikipedia, The free encyclopedia, [cited 2006, May 10]. Available from:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinosaurs
4. George,J. 1997. The isotopes in their bones suggest that dinosaurs were warm blooded [Internet] 2006 May, 09 14:30 UCT [cited 2006 may 10] Available from:http://www.txtwriter.com/onscience/Articles/dinoblood.html
5. Kreystek, L. 1996. Hot and cold running dinosaurs [Online] 2006 May, 17 ,15:06 UTC [Cited 2006 May 10]. Avalable from:http://unmuseum.mus.pa.us/colddino.htm

Linette Netshiheni
CSIR
Pretoria
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Cell: 0820446442
Tell: 012 841 2133
Fax: 012 842 3676

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