Dinosaur Body Temperatures Determined from Isotopic (13C-18O) Ordering in Fossil Biominerals
@article{Eagle2011DinosaurBT, title={Dinosaur Body Temperatures Determined from Isotopic (13C-18O) Ordering in Fossil Biominerals}, author={Robert A. Eagle and Thomas T{\"u}tken and Taylor S. Martin and A. Tripati and Henry C. Fricke and Melissa V. Connely and Richard. Cifelli and John Eiler}, journal={Science}, year={2011}, volume={333}, pages={443 - 445} }
Large dinosaurs had body temperatures similar to those of modern mammals and birds. 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…
121 Citations
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Isotopic ordering in eggshells reflects body temperatures and suggests differing thermophysiology in two Cretaceous dinosaurs.
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Clumped isotope analysis of eggshells can be used to determine body temperatures of females during periods of ovulation and indicates that variable thermoregulation likely existed among the non-avian dinosaurs and that not all dinosaurs had body temperatures in the range of that seen in modern birds.
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It is anticipated that the method of estimating body temperature from the abundance of 13C–18O bonds in the carbonate component of tooth bioapatite in both extant and extinct animals may be a very promising tool for estimating the Tb of extinct mammals.
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- Environmental Science, Geography
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The shells of marine mollusks are widely used archives of past climate and ocean chemistry. Whilst the measurement of mollusk δ18O to develop records of past climate change is a commonly used…
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- Environmental SciencePaleobiology
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Results from this experiment provide evidence for a possible evolutionary path from guarding behavior to thermoregulatory contact incubation in Troodon formosus, and show that contact incubating partially buried eggs did seem to confer an energetic advantage.
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