An Ancient And Fundamental Question About Dinosaurs May Finally Have An Answer Now
Robert L. Ohlson Robert L. Ohlson 
New research shows that T.rex and fearsome predators T. mammalian/T. rexes were warm-blooded, in line with birds and mammals. Paleontologists spent years trying to determine whether dinosaur blood flowed colder or warmer. This small piece of information may provide valuable insights into the lives of prehistoric creatures. It is possible a fragment of an asteroid responsible for the death of dinosaurs might have been found
Warm-blooded people have a high metabolic rate. They require large quantities of oxygen to maintain their body temperature. While cold-blooded organisms eat more and cannot breathe, they can still take in more oxygen. “This is exciting, paleontologists. The question is if dinosaurs had cold-blood or warm-blood, this was one of the oldest in paleontology. “We believe that we now have a consensus,” Jasmina Weimann, a postdoctoral scientist at the California Institute of Technology, said. Although it was suggested in previous attempts that dinosaurs may have been warm-blooded and possibly even cold-blooded species, researchers who looked at growth rings and chemical signs in bones revealed that these markers could be altered by fossilization. This can make it more difficult for large data sets to be constructed because fossils may be damaged by analysis techniques.
Wiemann and her associates planned an alternative method, which they believe is more conclusive, to determine the metabolism rate of a dinosaur.
Is there an answer?
The researchers examined the waste products created when oxygen enters a body. These substances react negatively with proteins and sugars. These waste molecules are identified in fossils by dark-colored areas. These are indicators that an animal is warm-blooded. The microscopic view shows the soft tissue taken from the bones of an Allosaurus. The molecules have great power and won’t disintegrate in water. This means that fossilization will preserve them. Wiemann’s group studied a femur of 55 different creatures. There were 25 moderns and 30 extinct animals. Some of the specimens belonged to dinosaur bones and giant flying reptiles called The pterosaurs. Infrared-spectroscopy, which studies the interactions of molecules and light, was used by scientists. This allowed them to determine how many waste molecules were in the fossils. The team then compared their findings to the metabolic rate of modern animals and used this data to infer extinct animals’ metabolic rates.
What has been found?
An older generation of paleontologists believed that dinosaurs were reptiles. This led us to assume that the dinosaurs were reptiles. Most paleontologists agree now that dinosaurs look more birdlike since we discovered feathered bones in the 1990s. This allowed us to see that birds are directly descended from dinosaurs. The study, published in Nature Wednesday, revealed that dinosaurs had metabolic speeds higher than those found in modern mammals. These mammals typically have a body temp of around 36 degrees Celsius (96.6 Fahrenheit) and are closer to birds, who have an average of 42 degrees Celsius (106.6 Fahrenheit).
Wiemann shared this email which stated, “With the evidence for an ancestral bird metabolism to all dinosaurs/pterosaurs, all heat blooded prehistoric dinosaurs likely had high body temperatures comparable to modern birds.” There were, however, some notable exceptions. Dinosaurs have been classified as “ornithischians,” an order with birdlike hips that instantly recognize creatures like Triceratops. Their metabolic rate is comparable to that of a cold-blooded modern animal.
Wieman stated that “Lizards, turtles enjoy the sun” It is possible that an identical behavioral’ thermoregulation could be required in ornithischians. They have a low metabolic rate and may need to do so. Wieman explained to us that cold-blooded dinosaurs might have been compelled to migrate to warmer regions to survive in the cold.
