Dinosaurs: Slower Growth in Hard Times

[Orstio]

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Palaeontologists from the University of Bonn report on an intriguing diagnosis in the 16 December issue of the journal Science. A dinosaur which they have examined was apparently able to vary the speed of its growth according the conditions obtaining in its environment. Although tortoises and crocodiles also do this, plateosaurus engelhardti seems to be unique among dinosaurs, leading experts to puzzle over whether the family history of the dinosaurs will need to be rewritten.


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[STRONG][EM][FONT color=#ffffff]Martin Sander taking samples of a fossil dinosaur bone for further examinations.[/FONT][/EM][/STRONG] [/TBODY]

‘Basically dinosaurs grew like we do,’ the Bonn palaeontologist Dr. Martin Sander expla. . .

[Retrospector]

It touches once again upon the question of dinosaur warm-bloodedness. You have to wonder how such large land animals (and the article was about a pro-sauropod) managed their body temperatures, and what sort of metabolic rates they had regardless of whether they were warm or cold-blooded. I've also wondered what is known about the lifetimes of those sauropods and pro-sauropods.

If crocs can change their growth rates why not the dinosaurs too? At least some of them.