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Robert Eagle and Aradhna Tripati measure Dinosaur Body Temperatures

Out today in Science Express is a paper by ESS Researcher Robert Eagle, with Professor Aradhna Tripati as coauthor, describing the first direct constraints on dinosaur body temperatures. The team finds that average sauropod body temperature was 36-38C, like many modern mammals. An age-old question is: were dinosaurs warm- or cold-blooded? That is, could they regulate their own temperature? It is still too early to answer with certainty, but with data like this we may soon know.

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/early/2011/06/22/science.1206196.full.pdf

Posted on June 24, 2011