From: Ben Creisler
bcreisler@gmail.com
A new online paper:
Chinsamy, A., Thomas, D. B., Tumarkin-Deratzian, A. R. and Fiorillo,
A. R. (2012)
Hadrosaurs Were Perennial Polar Residents.
The Anatomical Record: Advances in Integrative Anatomy and
Evolutionary Biology (advance online publication)
doi: 10.1002/ar.22428
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ar.22428/abstract
Recent biomechanical evidence has fuelled debate surrounding the
winter habits of the hadrosaurian dinosaur Edmontosaurus (ca. 70 Ma).
Using histological characteristics recorded in bone, we show that
polar Edmontosaurus endured the long winter night. In contrast, the
bone microstructure of temperate Edmontosaurus is inconsistent with a
perennially harsh environment. Differences in the bone microstructure
of polar and temperate Edmontosaurus consequently dispute the
hypothesis that polar populations were migratory. The overwintering
signal preserved in the microstructure of polar Edmontosaurus bone
offers significant insight into the life history of dinosaurs within
the Late Cretaceous Arctic.