Re: 'Kitchen science' reveals dinosaurs died in agony

[dinoboygraphics@aol.com]

The opisthotonic posture of vertebrate skeletons: postmortem
contraction or death throes?

Paleobiology, 33(2), 2007, pp. 201â226

In short, the evidence is largely empirical in that ctrolled "kitchen 
science" experiments do not result in opisthotonic death poses in 
extant ectothermic organisms, but do in endothermic ones.  
Additionally, fossil mammals, pterosaurs, and dinosaurs (including 
birds) produce such death postures, but other fossil taxa do not, 
including long-necked taxa such as plesiosaurs.

Since opisthotonic death poses are only produced by damage (e.g. lack 
of oxygen) to the central nervous system, they  propose the mechanism 
is that the cerebellum (which normally inhibits contraction) of 
high-oxygen consumption animals (endotherms) are more susceptible to 
oxygen starvation than that of low metabolic-rate organisms, whose 
brains normally operate with lower levels of oxygen on a daily basis.

It looks like solid work to me, and is consistent with other data 
including growth rates, increased pulminary capacity (air sacs in 
saurischians), increased locomotor ability relative to more basal 
archosaurs, and increased food-gathering and processing abilities (most 
notably in ornithscians).


Scott Hartman
Science Director
Wyoming Dinosaur Center
110 Carter Ranch Rd.
Thermopolis, WY 82443
(800) 455-3466 ext. 230
Cell: (307) 921-8333

www.skeletaldrawing.com


-----Original Message-----
From: Jura <pristichampsus@yahoo.com>
To: dinosaur@usc.edu
Sent: Wed, 6 Jun 2007 12:19 pm
Subject: Re: 'Kitchen science' reveals dinosaurs died in agony



Wow, that was...completely useless. Does anyone have
the actual title of the paper. I'd love to read the
reasoning behind why only "warm-blooded" creatures die
in agony.

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