Dinosaur Body Temperature Successfully Measured Through Eggshell Chemical Analysis
Published:
Dinosaurs Were Neither Warm-blooded Nor Cold-blooded
A study published in the British science journal Nature Communications suggests that dinosaurs were neither warm-blooded like modern mammals and birds, nor cold-blooded like reptiles.
The study concludes that "dinosaurs could raise their body temperature to a certain level through metabolism (internal heat generation), but could not maintain it at a high state." They were animals that fell somewhere between warm-blooded and cold-blooded.
While further research is needed for more details, it was also found that the body temperature levels of the 20-meter-class sauropod titanosaurs and the 1-2 meter long theropod oviraptorids were different.
Measuring Body Temperature by Analyzing Eggshells
The research team analyzed the properties of the rare isotopes carbon-13 and oxygen-18 contained in calcium carbonate, the main component of eggshells. It is said that the lower the temperature, the more densely these isotopes tend to clump together. This allows us to know the mother's internal body temperature at the time of laying the eggs.
The chemical composition of 19 dinosaur eggs discovered in Late Cretaceous strata (about 80-70 million years ago) was examined. As a result, the body temperature of the sauropod titanosaurs was estimated to be about 38°C, and that of the small theropod oviraptorids was 31.9°C.
The ground temperature at that time is thought to have been about 25°C, and both results were higher than the ambient temperature.