9 oct 2011
New research adds to the debate about whether dinosaurs were slow, sluggish and cold-blooded or active and warm-blooded like mammals. Scientists looked at holes in dinosaurs' bones for the answer.
Roger Seymour from the University of Adelaide compared dinosaur bones to mammals and reptiles to get an idea of how active the dinos were. The research, the results of which will be published this month in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B "Biological Sciences," is full of holes -- bone holes.
Most bones, both fossilized and fresh, have a single opening where an artery and a vein enter. The hole, called the nutrient foramen, is bigger in more active animals. The more active the animal, the more oxygen the bones need, and hence the bigger the artery that is needed to supply that oxygen.
"Far from being lifeless, bone cells have a relatively high metabolic rate and they therefore require a large blood supply to deliver oxygen,” said Seymour in a University of Adelaide press release.
