222 lines
5.5 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
222 lines
5.5 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
science
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dinosaurs
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6539092
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-----
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# Dinosaurs were 'hot-blooded' killers
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## Far from the "terrible lizard" that their Greek name implies, dinosaurs
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were closer to humans than cold-blooded reptiles, a new study suggests.
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![Hot-blooded killer][1]
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Hot-blooded killer
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[![Richard Alleyne][2]][3]
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By [Richard Alleyne][4], Science Correspondent 7:00AM GMT 11 Nov 2009
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[Comments][5]
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Creatures such as the Tyrannosaurus Rex were warm blooded creatures with
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athletic high metabolisms that could surivive in all kinds of cold and harsh
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conditions.
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New evidence appears to confirm that the ancient creatures were endothermic,
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or warm-blooded, like their modern descendants - birds.
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Far from being lumbering slow beasts that boosted their energy levels by
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basking in the sun, they were likely to have been agile and active.
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But being warm-blooded would have come at a price, because it requires a lot
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of feeding.
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If food became scarce at the time the dinosaurs became extinct 65 million
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years ago, this could have made it harder for them to survive.
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The US scientists led by Dr Herman Pontzer at the University of Washington, St
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Louis, based their findings on the estimated amount of energy dinosaurs must
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have expended moving about.
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Recent research by Dr Pontzer has shown that the energy cost of walking and
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running is strongly associated with leg length.
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Hip height - the distance from the hip joint to the ground - can predict the
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observed cost of locomotion with 98 per cent accuracy for a wide range of land
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animals.
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Dr Pontzer's team applied this principle to an analysis of fossilised dinosaur
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leg bones.
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The scientists also calculated the actual volume of leg muscle dinosaurs would
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have had to activate in order to move.
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After studying 14 different species the researchers concluded that simply
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walking and running required too much energy for larger bipedal dinosaurs to
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have been cold-blooded.
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The scientists wrote in the online journal Public Library of Science ONE:
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"These results strongly suggest endothermy for larger bipedal dinosaurs,
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because other explanations require physiological adaptations or locomotor
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limitations unseen in living terrestrial vertebrates."
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The research pointed to warm-bloodedness being an ancestral trait that emerged
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early in dinosaur evolution.
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Having warm blood and a high metabolic rate may have contributed to the
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evolutionary success dinosaurs enjoyed for hundreds of millions of years
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throughout the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.
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[What are these?][7]
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* Share: [Share][6] [ ][8] [ ][9]
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[Tweet][10]
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/dinosaurs/6539092/Dinosaurs-were-hot-
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blooded-killers.html
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Telegraph
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## [Dinosaurs][11]
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* ### [News »][12]
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* ### [UK News »][13]
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* ### [Science »][14]
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* ### [Science News »][15]
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* ### [Richard Alleyne »][16]
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In science
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[![Model of Tyrannosaurus rex's: Dinosaurs the 'couch potatoes' of prehistoric
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world ][17] ][18]
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### [Tyrannosaurus Rex: the cannibal][18]
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[![A bizarre dinosaur with a ''crown of horns'' has been discovered by
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scientists. ][19] ][20]
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### [Horned dinosaurs discovered][20]
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[![An artist's impression of Pakasuchus][21] ][22]
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### [Cat-like crocodile roamed earth][22]
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[![Mojoceratops, a relative of the triceratops which lived 75 million years
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ago. Mojoceratops, the frilly dinosaur named over beers][23] ][24]
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### [The 'Mojoceratops' is named][24]
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[X][6] Share & bookmark
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[What are these?][7]
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Share:
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* [ ][6]
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* [ ][8]
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* [ ][9]
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* [Tweet][10]
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* Advertisement
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![][25]
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telegraphuk
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Please enable JavaScript to view the [comments powered by Disqus.][26] [blog
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comments powered by Disqus][27]
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[![Follow The Telegraph on social media][28]][29]
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Science Most Viewed
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5. [Air France Flight 447 - will all be revealed?][34]
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dark'][38]
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2. [Giant asteroid heading close to Earth][37]
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5. [Air France Flight 447 - will all be revealed?][34]
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[EDITOR'S CHOICE »][40]
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### [Gil Scott-Heron: 'A voice for Shakespeare'][41]
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[![Gil Scott-Heron][42]][41]
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Composer, musician, poet and author whose writing provided a vivid commentary
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on the black American experience.
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### [The Telegraph's Matt is Hay Festival star][46]
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Advertisement
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