When the first warm-blooded dinosaurs roamed Earth
Associated PressDALLAS — Scientists once thought of dinosaurs as sluggish, cold-blooded creatures. Now, a new study estimates that the first warm-blooded dinosaurs may have roamed the Earth about 180 million years ago, about halfway through the creatures’ time on the planet. Warm-blooded creatures — including birds, who are descended from dinosaurs, and humans — keep their body temperature constant whether the world around them runs cold or hot. Research by Wiemann, who was not involved with the latest study, suggests that warm-blooded dinosaurs may have evolved closer to the beginning of their time on Earth, around 250 million years ago. She said compiling clues from multiple aspects of dinosaurs’ lives — including their body temperatures and diets — may help scientists paint a clearer picture of when they evolved to be warm-blooded.
History of this topic
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