Re: ora speeds

[David Marjanovic <david.marjanovic@gmx.at>]

> A couple things: 
> 
> 1) Auffenberg's observations agree with those of another study: 
> 
> Lederer, G. 1942. Der Drachenwaren (_Varanus komodoensis Ouwens). Zool. 
> Gart. (Leipzig)(n.s.) 14(5/6): 227-244 
> 
> If I remember HP David Marjanovic correctly, these measurements were 
> taken from animals at a zoo. 
 
No idea, all I know is that Zoologischer Garten Leipzig is a zoo. And you 
did not remember that I told you it's -waran, not -waren. :-) 
 
> Yet, they still represent an independent account of  
> these animals moving at these speeds. If one doesn't mind translating  
> German (better if one already knows German), then one might find a data  
> set there.  
 
Well, if you can send the paper in some form, then I could try. Not that I 
knew when, though. :-( 
  
> 2) Oras, and varanids in general, DO NOT possess low aerobic abilities.  
> They are highly aerobic lizards [...] 
 
Yes, varanids cheat, they have an extra complicated lung, as detailed in a 
chapter in the Ostrom Symposium volume, plus the famous gular pump. Allows 
them to be pretty tachyaerobic without being tachymetabolic, apparently. 
 
> Later work (Hopkins et al, 1995/Frappell et al, 2002) showed that,  
> not only do monitors show gas exchange abilities on par with mammals,  
> but their aerobic 
> limitations are exactly the same as the ones found in mammals.  
 
Wow. Really? 
 
> Furthermore, studies on other monitors (Bennett 1972) show reliance on  
> anaerobiosis only at very high temperatures. 
 
Why does temperature matter? 

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