My favourite dinosaur is the Eoraptor, it was a beautiful creature, and rather skillful for an early species. I believe dinosaurs evolved into all different creatures not just birds.You did get species of bird like dinosaurs and they were more likely the ones that changed to birds not your average t-rex.
As to the favorite, I've got to go with Allosaurus. Velociraptor is too cliched now, and the T-Rex turned out to likely be a clumsy scavenger.
Actually T Rex were hunting and living in packs and were not so stupid as people think, as there is evidence that a pack coordinated the hunt... http://www.dinosaurhome.com
There were most definately northern ice caps. The southern ice cap didn't exist until the end of the cezazoic, though, because the circum polar current didn't exist.
Nooo, there were no ice caps during the Mesozoic. Northern ice caps didn't appear untill the Holocene or the Miocene I believe, but during the time of the dinos there was no ice caps whatsoever. Whoever told you otherwise was dead wrong.
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They were all warm blooded. Why would dinosuars evolve large and diversify so much with warm blooded mammals and be able to survive if the more active mammals?
I don't know what that last sentence meant but the reason why I said the "more advanced" one was because there are fossil evidence of large reptiles/dinosaurs who have clearly cold blooded features. Once we're into the later stages, ie. Jurrasic/Cretaceous, then we've got some stronger evidence of warm blood.
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I don't think I understand what you are trying to say. Of course it's palentoligical, what else would it be? And of course we compare it to modern animals? How in the hell else would we figure anything out?
You implied that dinosaurs must have been warm blooded because "The earth was not warmer or cooler than today". That's climatological evidence. One could reason that cold-blooded creatures of that size couldn't live at certain latitudes with today's seasonal climates. That't not really palentological evidence, because it relies on climate.
"Do you realize that fluoridation is the most monstrously conceived and dangerous communist plot we have ever had to face?"
During the Mesozoic the Earth was, in general, MUCH warmer than today. Polar ice caps did not exist.
There were most definately northern ice caps. The southern ice cap didn't exist until the end of the cezazoic, though, because the circum polar current didn't exist.
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agree that more advanced dionsaurs were likely warm blooded,
They were all warm blooded. Why would dinosuars evolve large and diversify so much with warm blooded mammals and be able to survive if the more active mammals?
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The only evidence of warm blooded dinosaurs comes from palentologic evidence compared to modern and acient avians.
I don't think I understand what you are trying to say. Of course it's palentoligical, what else would it be? And of course we compare it to modern animals? How in the hell else would we figure anything out?
O of where dost thou hail, Celephanil, Celephanil? Why dost thou wander in Tengelwar great, why on the sea do you sail?
During the Mesozoic the Earth was, in general, MUCH warmer than today. Polar ice caps did not exist. I agree that more advanced dionsaurs were likely warm blooded, but the Earth's climate was singifigantly different back then. It was around 5-10 C warmer if I'm remembering right. This meant less seasonality, no ice caps whatsoever, and signigifantly different ocean circulation.
The only evidence of warm blooded dinosaurs comes from palentologic evidence compared to modern and acient avians.
"Do you realize that fluoridation is the most monstrously conceived and dangerous communist plot we have ever had to face?"
Originally posted by Euterpe: Why do you think that, EG? I would assume cold-blooded not just because they're reptiles, but because the temperature of the Earth had to be hotter than it is now, right?
But I'm curious to know why you think warm-blooded.
The earth was not warmer or cooler than today, but the continents were mainly sqooshed around the equator. But even Antarctica, which was at the southern pole, had many dinosaurs.
We must remember that birds are much more closely related to dinosaurs than dinosaurs are to reptiles. Also, dinosuar bones show texture patterns in the marrow found only in warm blooded creatures. They were most definately warm blooded, and many were covered with feathers, and possibly all were born with down.
O of where dost thou hail, Celephanil, Celephanil? Why dost thou wander in Tengelwar great, why on the sea do you sail?
Once it was thought that all dinosaurs were cold-blooded - now many suggest that at least some were warm-blooded, which would help to explain why they became so plentiful and dominant for so long. If we examine today's fauna , we find no large land predators that are cold-blooded, except for crocodiles that occupy only one very specific ecological niche and are basically water dwellers. The same is true of the entire Cenozoic era - virtually all large predators were warm-blooded.
The reason is not difficult to find. The position of top predator is a very competitive one. The ability to control body temperature and maintain it at a constant value (ie warm-blooded) is a very large advantage. Not only does it mean that the animal is not dependent on the environmental temperature but can hunt at any time of the day (or night), or in any season, but it also means operating at maximum efficiency. All creatures, whether warm- or cold-blooded, use the same basic biochemical processes to produce energy, with the same enzymes and substrates. The chemical reactions involved generally have a particular optimal temperature. For every drop of 10 degrees C, the process will be twice as slow - hence the sluggishness of cold-blooded animals in cold environments or at night. Evolutionary theory thus demands that in any long term competitive situation, warm-blooded animals will always win over their cold-blooded competitors, and this is what the history of mammal development demonstrates. No large cold-blooded predators can develop against mammalian competition - instead they remain small and occupy ecologically specialized positions where they can hide for most of the time and only need to hunt for food occasionally when safe to do so. There are, of course, attendant disadvantages to endothermy, not the least of which is the need for very much larger expenditure of energy to maintain elevated metabolic rates, and a commensurate increase in food requirements.
Why do you think that, EG? I would assume cold-blooded not just because they're reptiles, but because the temperature of the Earth had to be hotter than it is now, right?
But I'm curious to know why you think warm-blooded.
they're evil. They attack eagles. One time, we were sitting out on my uncle's deck in Wisconsin, and the feeder was out. Well, the hummingbirds were very angry about this, and proceeded to attack us. Unforunately, they did not see the screen, so we had to push their beaks out so they could escape.
Another time, my father was changing our feeder, and the hummingbirds were thusly angry, and proceeded to attack. My book says that all hummingbirds are pugnacious and fearless. In other words EVIL!!
O of where dost thou hail, Celephanil, Celephanil? Why dost thou wander in Tengelwar great, why on the sea do you sail?
"The very existence of flamethrowers proves that sometime, somewhere, someone said to themselves, "You know, I want to set those people over there on fire, but I'm just not close enough to get the job done"."
and I think it was a big old space rock impacting earth that killed off the dinos (I will not rule out the possability of aliens shoving said rock at the planet )
"The very existence of flamethrowers proves that sometime, somewhere, someone said to themselves, "You know, I want to set those people over there on fire, but I'm just not close enough to get the job done"."
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