RE: Antorbital fenestra

[Dinosaur World <dinoworld@msn.com>]

Is it plausible to suggest that the antorbital fenestra also allowed for the 
dissipation of heat through the thin skin that covered it? If the brain is 
overheated, sever damage can occur. The smaller the brain, the less 
fluctuation of temperature can be tolerated. So the slightest rise in 
temperature could have had negative consequences.

Just the act of feeding could possible generate a heat buildup within the 
skull, simply by the movement of muscles. Could this fenestra be a way to 
counter that potential problem?

George Blasing





From: "Andrew A. Farke" <andyfarke@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: andyfarke@hotmail.com
To: 'dinousc' <dinosaur@usc.edu>
Subject: RE: Antorbital fenestra
Date: Fri, 26 Nov 2004 12:39:50 -0500

The antorbital fenestra houses an air sac in all archosaurs. See Witmer 1997
for *the* paper on the antorbital fenestra. Muscles have little, if
anything, to do with the fenestra.

WITMER, L. M. 1997. The evolution of the antorbital cavity of archosaurs: a
study in soft-tissue reconstruction in the fossil record with an analysis of
the function of pneumaticity. Society of Vertebrate Paleontology Memoir,
3:1-73.

Andy

> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-dinosaur@usc.edu [mailto:owner-dinosaur@usc.edu] On Behalf Of
> Kent Caldwell
> Sent: Friday, November 26, 2004 10:37 AM
> To: dinosaur@usc.edu
> Subject: re: Antorbital fenestra
>
> oops - actually, that was my answer. Whenever I think
> of anorbital fenestra, I automatically think of the
> big, modified ones possessed by theropods; I did not
> even consider its function in other archosaurs.
>
> Kent Caldwell
>
> --- David Peters <davidrpeters@earthlink.net> wrote:
>
> > apologies if this has already been answered. I'm an
> > archive reader.
> >
> > The answer goes back to before there were theropods,
> > because the
> > theropods inherited this character from croc-like
> > proterosuchids and
> > their intermediaries.
> >
> > Still Grant's answer may apply.
> >
> > dp
> > stl
> >
> >
> > For some time now there has been wide consensus that
> > the anorbital fenestra lightened the skull of
> > theropods without sacrificing strength and also
> > increased the area for muscle attachment & may have
> > added to those muscles' efficiency by giving them
> > more
> > room to flex.
> >
> > --- Amtoine Grant <ajgrant@eastlink.ca> wrote:
> >
> >