The Warm and Cold Blooded Nature of Dinosaurs :: Anthropology Essays Paleontology Papers

The Warm and Cold Blooded Nature of Dinosaurs The debate of whether dinosaurs were icy blooded or warm blooded has been ongoing since the beginning of the century. At the turn of the century scientists believed that dinosaurs had long limbs and were fairly slim, supporting the idea of a chilliness blooded reptile. Recently, however, the bone structure, number or predators to prey, and limb position have suggested a warm blooded species. In addition, the recent discovery of a fossilised dinosaur heart has supported the idea that dinosaurs were a warm blooded species. In this essay, I am going to give supporting evidence of dinosaurs being two warm and cold blooded. I will provide background information on the dinosaur that was discovered and what information it provides scientists. Until recently, scientists believed the chances of finding a fossilized dinosaur heart were toweringly slim. The heart belonged to a 66 million year old dinosaur found in Harding County in Northwestern South Dakota. The dinosaur, found in 1993, weighed over 650 pounds and was 13 feet long. The dinosaur was in fairly good condition with the exception of the left side of the skeleton. The small, plant-eating Thescelosaurus, nicknamed Willo has been acquired by the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. Thescelosaurus was an ornithischian, or bird-hipped, dinosaur that lived in the latter peak of the Cretaceous period. This was approximately 1 million years before the end of the dinosaur era. Native to North America, its range extended from the northern United States up into Canada. Since using the 3-D software to attain Willos heart, scientists have also used it to create 3-D images of the fossils skull, and of remains from other dinosaurs in the museums collection. (Fisher, Paul) A group of scientists from North Carolina and operating theater used medical technology to search an iron-stained concretion inside the specimens chest. With the assist ance of imaging equipment and software, they were able to reconstruct 3-dimensional structures through the interior of the concretion. The images reveal a heart that was more like that of a bird or a mammal than those of reptiles, significantly adding to evidence suggesting that at least some dinosaurs had high metabolic rates. In addition, the heart appears to have been four chambered with a single aorta, which is most commonly found in mammals or birds.