Re: prosauropod growth & metabolics

[Michael Habib <mhabib5@jhmi.edu>]

> ...The modest leg muscles of basal dinosaurs
> indicates they lacked the high aerobic exercise capacity typical of 
> birds and most
> mammals...

Makes intuitive sense; has anyone actually worked out the relationship 
between appendicular muscle mass and aerobic capability?  I have a 
range of references discussing differences in ectothermic/endothermic 
metabolism, but I don't think any of them talk about the link between 
muscle mass in the limbs and the aerobic capabilities of those muscles. 
  If anyone has good citations on the subject that would be great.  
(thanks in advance)

Oh, and I'd be especially interested in any such papers that took a 
phylogenetic comparative approach to work around (at best is possible) 
the phylo. signal effects of comparing modern lepidosaurian ectotherms 
to modern avians and/or mammals (I know, that one is trickier, but I'd 
like to think that someone has taken the time to do it...)


Cheers,

--Mike H.