Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
Science. 2011 Jul 22;333(6041):443-5. doi: 10.1126/science.1206196. Epub 2011 Jun 23.
The nature of the physiology and thermal regulation of the nonavian dinosaurs is the subject of debate. Previously, arguments have been made for both endothermic and ectothermic metabolisms on the basis of differing methodologies. We used clumped isotope thermometry to determine body temperatures from the fossilized teeth of large Jurassic sauropods. Our data indicate body temperatures of 36° to 38°C, which are similar to those of most modern mammals. This temperature range is 4° to 7°C lower than predicted by a model that showed scaling of dinosaur body temperature with mass, which could indicate that sauropods had mechanisms to prevent excessively high body temperatures being reached because of their gigantic size.
恐龙的生理学和体温调节的本质是有争议的。以前，基于不同的方法，人们提出了恐龙可能是吸热代谢或散热代谢的观点。我们使用同位素分馏测温法，从大型侏罗纪蜥脚类恐龙的牙齿化石中确定了体温。我们的数据表明，体温在 36°C 到 38°C 之间，与大多数现代哺乳动物相似。这个温度范围比一个显示恐龙体温与质量按比例缩放的模型预测的低 4°C 到 7°C，这可能表明蜥脚类恐龙有机制来防止因体型庞大而导致体温过高。
