They’re even more impressive than we first thought – or, as it happens, not more impressive but more impressive in another way.
New studies are suggesting that certain types of dinosaurs may have had the capacity to regulate their own body temperature.
It could change our understanding of animal timelines throughout the history of our planet, with these dinosaurs potentially becoming the first ever warm-blooded land animals.
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The experts scrutinised 1,000 fossils and a range of climate models covering every phase of dinosaur life on Earth, which spanned from 230 to 66 million years ago.
Researchers delved into geography from this time period, known as the Mesozoic Era, as part of their investigation before arriving at their conclusions.
They discovered that Therapods and Ornithischians, groups that comprise the likes of the T-Rex and the Triceratops respectively, shifted to colder environments during the Early Jurassic period.
Due to this reason, the dinosaurs in those two groups may have developed the ability to generate internal heat.
Dr Alfio Alessandro Chiarenza from the University of College London Earth Sciences is the first author on the study. Dr Chiarenza stated: “Our analyses show that different climate preferences emerged among the main dinosaur groups around the time the Jenkyns event occurred 183 million years ago, when intense volcanic activity led to global warming and the extinction of several plant groups.
At this point in time, several new dinosaur groups appeared. The adoption of endothermy, potentially a consequence of this environmental hardship, could’ve allowed theropods and ornithischians to make a go of it in cooler environments, making them highly active and able to maintain activity for longer periods, enabling them to grow and develop speedily and have a higher reproductive output.
Co-author Dr Sara Varela, of the University of Vigo, Spain, said: “Theropods also include birds, and our study suggests that birds’ unique temperature regulation may have evolved from this Early Jurassic era.”
Gentlemen crocodiles, on the other hand, which remained in warmer climates, grew to giant proportions around this time – another possible adaptation thanks to environmental pressure. Their lower surface area to volume ratio meant these larger blokes would lose heat at a slower rate, allowing them to stay active for a longer timeframe.
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