2011/06/24 by Robert A. Eagle, Thomas Tütken, Taylor Martin +5 · 4 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Social Sciences · #Evolution and Paleontology Studies #Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology #Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology
paper · doi:10.1126/science.1206196
openalex publication_date 2011/06/24 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
The nature of the physiology and thermal regulation of the nonavian dinosaurs is the subject of debate. Previously, arguments have been made for both endothermic and ectothermic metabolisms on the basis of differing methodologies. We used clumped isotope thermometry to determine body temperatures from the fossilized teeth of large Jurassic sauropods. Our data indicate body temperatures of 36° to 38°C, which are similar to those of most modern mammals. This temperature range is 4° to 7°C lower than predicted by a model that showed scaling of dinosaur body temperature with mass, which could indicate that sauropods had mechanisms to prevent excessively high body temperatures being reached because of their gigantic size.