Scientists Can Now Distinguish Between Warm- and Cold-Blooded Dinosaurs

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Dinosaurs used to be thought of as large, cold-blooded, and dull-colored animals. In recent years, we have learned that dinosaurs were more closely related to birds than lizards. Many of the dinosaurs we thought were warm were actually hot-blooded.

The study used a novel technique to identify warm- and cold-blooded dinosaurs. They tell a new story about how these creatures lived and died. The ratio of biochemical byproducts that resulted from breathing was measured. They discovered that warm-blooded dinosaurs breathe more than cold-blooded dinosaurs.

• dinosaurs
• fossils
• paleontology