Emily Chan
Around 180 million years ago, two major groups of dinosaurs evolved the ability to regulate their body temperatures, making them warm-blooded creatures.
In the past, scientists assumed that all dinosaurs were cold-blooded, which means their body temperatures were determined by their surroundings.
However, recent findings have revealed that some dinosaurs were actually warm-blooded, although researchers have been unable to confirm when exactly they developed this trait.
The latest study published in the journal Current Biology suggests that a group of mostly carnivorous dinosaurs called theropods and plant-eating dinosaurs called ornithischians developed warm-bloodedness during the early Jurassic period. The adaptation may have arisen due to global warming caused by volcanic eruptions.
Warm-blooded animals, such as birds and mammals, can regulate and maintain constant body temperatures through the energy they receive from food.
They can easily produce heat within their bodies by shivering or cool themselves off by panting, sweating, and dilating the blood vessels. This lets them survive in a wide range of environments.
In contrast, cold-blooded animals, like reptiles and fish, must move to different environments to either cool down or warm themselves up.
They depend on external sources to maintain their body temperatures, so they might sit in the sun for warmth or go for a dip in the water if they’re too hot.
Researchers investigated the geographic spread of dinosaurs during the Mesozoic Era, which lasted from around 252 million to 66 million years ago. To do so, they studied 1,000 fossils, climate models, and evolutionary trees of dinosaurs.
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