Re: Bigger dinosaurs had warmer blood.

[Dann Pigdon <dannj@alphalink.com.au>]

Quoting "Richard W. Travsky" <rtravsky@uwyo.edu>:
> And the first thing that came to mind for me was how DID they shed heat?

Maybe that's what those super-necks and -tails were for; to increase  
the surface area:volume ratio to help cool down. Feeding adaptations  
and defense may well have been secondary.

What of the 'spikes' found on some diplodocid necks/tails? Could they  
have had rich internal blood supplies to further the cooling process  
(something similar has been suggested for stegosaur plates)? The frill  
on Amargasaurus also comes to mind.

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Dann Pigdon
GIS / Archaeologist         http://heretichides.soffiles.com
Melbourne, Australia        http://www.geocities.com/dannsdinosaurs
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