Dinosaurs might have been warm-blooded!

[Waterisbest]

http://www.livescience.com/21215-din...m-blooded.html

Link to the article.

Basicly Autonomous University of Barcelona in Spain has put forward a possibility for dinosaurs to be warm-blooded. I believe it changes a lot in terms of how we look at evolution. Now I am by no means an expert on this matter and quite frankly my knowledge is very limited, but this just makes everything very interesting.

[Julian Rayne]

All existing dinosaurs are certainly warmblooded. Therefore at least some extinct dinosaurs were warmblooded.

[Deleted]

Giant chickens I tell you!

[Catta]

All existing dinosaurs are certainly warmblooded. Therefore at least some extinct dinosaurs were warmblooded.

Well many if not all reptiles are not while birds are. But since birds are there must have been atleast a single species of dino who were warm blooded at some point in history. Either that or a bird that was cold blooded.
Damm - its the chicken and egg all over!

[Gothicshark]

Yah, they figured that out twenty plus years ago, when they realized they had to move about a lot or get eaten by little things like rats. Of course then they put two and two together and looked at the birds closely and lo and behold the dinosaurs are not gone, we just call them birds.

[Tradewind]

Well many if not all reptiles are not while birds are. But since birds are there must have been atleast a single species of dino who were warm blooded at some point in history. Either that or a bird that was cold blooded.
Damm - its the chicken and egg all over!

The evolution from cold blooded to warm blooded is not unheard of. It is not always just a case of thermoregulation, but other factors such as aerobic and metabolic changes as a species evolved can convert one to the other.

http://compphys.bio.uci.edu/bennett/pubs/30.pdf

Good article on it.

It's possible that a cold blooded dinosaur evolved into a warm blooded dinosaur.

[Gothicshark]

Here is an interesting picture of a Raptor, which they now know had feathers.

[Catta]

The evolution from cold blooded to warm blooded is not unheard of. It is not always just a case of thermoregulation, but other factors such as aerobic and metabolic changes as a species evolved can convert one to the other.

http://compphys.bio.uci.edu/bennett/pubs/30.pdf

Good article on it.

It's possible that a cold blooded dinosaur evolved into a warm blooded dinosaur.

Yea, but reptiles and amphibians have really slow metabolisms so would they be considered birds before they got warm blood or after?

[Tradewind]

Yea, but reptiles and amphibians have really slow metabolisms so would they be considered birds before they got warm blood or after?

Reptiles and Amphibians are not birds? Just because Dinosaurs are deemed reptilian does not mean that all reptiles have or will follow the same evolutionary path. Or maybe I'm not reading the question right. This Evolution is also likely over millions upon millions of years. The dinosaur/bird hybrid w/e, would have slowly evolved to a narrower thermal tolerance and eventually becoming homeostatic. Whether that happened while still considered "reptilian" or if it was after they had become "avian" who knows.

Example is leather back sea turtles, which are technically cold blooded but can regulate their body temperatures independent to their surroundings. A feature typically unique to homeostatic species. Could be an example of a mid-evolutionary change from cold to warm blooded reptiles/amphibians etc.

[Catta]

Reptiles and Amphibians are not birds? Just because Dinosaurs are deemed reptilian does not mean that all reptiles have or will follow the same evolutionary path. Or maybe I'm not reading the question right.

I mean that since all current reptiles most closely resemble dinosaurs then it would be fair to assume that most dinosaurs were cold blooded at least to begin with. And t hen i ponder the classification between dinosaur and bird and if they would have been considered dinosaurs or birds when they became warm blooded.

[Tradewind]

I mean that since all current reptiles most closely resemble dinosaurs then it would be fair to assume that most dinosaurs were cold blooded at least to begin with. And t hen i ponder the classification between dinosaur and bird and if they would have been considered dinosaurs or birds when they became warm blooded.

Depends on what is classically considered a "bird" or where that species lines up with the class/clade etc. Which is where this post stems from, is it possible to have a cold blooded and warm blooded dinosaurs, or by definition is a warm blooded dinosaur then become avians?

Don't get caught into the idea that all prehistoric reptiles or amphibians are "dinosaurs" or even directly related. Frogs are 250 million years old as well, predating the jurassic period, with the more recognizable species being about 200 million years old. But they're part of a different branch and order. We don't call Frogs dinosaurs, nor have Frogs evolved into Birds.

[Catta]

Depends on what is classically considered a "bird" or where that species lines up with the class/clade etc. Which is where this post stems from, is it possible to have a cold blooded and warm blooded dinosaurs, or by definition is a warm blooded dinosaur then become avians?

Don't get caught into the idea that all prehistoric reptiles or amphibians are "dinosaurs" or even directly related. Frogs are 250 million years old as well, predating the jurassic period, with the more recognizable species being about 200 million years old. But they're part of a different branch and order. We don't call Frogs dinosaurs, nor have Frogs evolved into Birds.

No of course not - just mentioned amphibians because ive specifically measured the metabolism of some of them.
The same day i also dissected 80 cm shark with no instructions or preperation. Good times.

[endersblade]

Good lord, this theory has been around since at least the 80s, this isn't anything new. I used to watch dino shows all the time on the discovery channel (and whatever else that had back then) and I can remember several scientists putting forth this idea.

[helpmefindsong]

considering how big they are they would have to be warm-blooded or hot-blooded.

[Karthorn]

Giant chickens I tell you!

Wasn't there a movie like that? Chicken T-Rex or something.

[Larynx]

From giant lizards to warm-blooded primitive birds.

My entire life is a lie.



I refuse to accept it! Never!

[helpmefindsong]

I refuse to accept it! Never!

<snip>

Mod Warning: Don't attempt to start such discussions.

[Gingerhunter247]

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/...nce-surprises/
There is evidence that a relative of the t-rex had feathers that acted as insulation, so it is not far off to say they would be warm-blooded.

[Julian Rayne]

So the Raven Lord mount is actually more realistic than the other raptor mounts then?

[OldHordeGlory]

It's interesting. My family has a book about dinosaurs that shows the relative amounts of food a carnivorous dinosaur would have to eat if it were warm-blooded versus cold blooded. They point out that the debate was still active as to which they were back then (1993), and suggest that the appetites of warm-blooded carnivorous dinosaurs would have been "impossibly huge".

Go figure.