Dinosaurs lived in jungles and swamps in the summer, at least according to some movies. The classic image is not the same as it used to be. Some dinosaurs lived in cold habitats with months of darkness and occasional snow, according to paleontologists. One of Earth's worst extinctions may have been aided by rigid conditions like these.
A paleontologist at the University of Vigo who was not involved with the work says there are several interesting ideas in the mix. More evidence is needed to support some of the study's claims.
The scientists zeroed in on the events that took place around the time of the dinosaurs. A mass extinction is thought to have taken place at the end of the Triassic period and just prior to the followingJurassic period. Some types of organisms performed better than others. Even though all existing groups of dinosaurs walked through the disaster unscathed, many other forms of reptile and amphibian perished. The paper suggests that adaptation to life in cold habitats separated the survivors from the extinct.
The Junggar Basin contains geological and fossil discoveries. Dinosaur tracks can be found on the rocks from the end of the Triassic and the beginning of the Dinosaurs. A new study suggests that the rocks have pebbles and other debris carried along by rafts of ice. Dinosaurs must have been thriving in the cold, according to the team.
They might have been able to adapt to Plumage. Fossils show that many dinosaurs and flying pterosaurs have feathers on their bodies. Some researchers think the last common ancestor of dinosaurs and pterosaurs had a feathery coat more than 243 million years ago. The late Triassic dinosaurs in the Junggar Basin had warm winter coats that were made of plumage, according to a new report. The researchers theorize that the dinosaurs survived the end-Triassic extinction because they were covered in warmth.
It is a provocative idea, but paleontologists have yet to find evidence of feathers or their predecessors among the dinosaurs of the time period. If feathery fossils turn up in Triassic rocks, researchers can compare their age and location to models of the Triassic climate to see if dinosaur plumage really allowed them to brave the cold.
It's rare and little-known that fossils from near the Triassic are found in the polar regions. The fossil record is not complete among rocks that preserve warmer regions. He says that the paper's hypothesis will be tested by future discoveries. Varela wants to understand why some lineages don't disappear. The answers will be found in the rock.
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