Re: Frozen dinosaurs

From: TTrotsky_at_aol.com
Date: Sun, 17 Jun 2001 16:12:02 EDT


David Dunham:

<< > (2) they aren't actually "dinosaurs" in any RW sense, or
 

 Real world dinosaurs are probably warm-blooded, aren't they? >>

     That is a theory amongst palaeontologists, to be sure, but very much a minority one. The bulk of the biophysical evidence suggests that (at least for the big beasts) dinosaurs must have been cold-blooded, as was originally thought. Having said that, their low surface to volume ratio would mean that they wouldn't cool down as quickly as modern reptiles do.

<< Also, there was a nice bit in the "Walking with Dinosaurs" program showing a bunch of dinosaurs that lived in what's now Antarctica. IIRC, they essentially hibernated during winter. This certainly feels mythically correct - -- burrowing into their mother the Earth to survive.>>

      This is certainly a possibility - especially for Glorantha :-). However, "Walking With Dinosaurs", while very entertaining, shouldn't really be taken as an accurate guide to the state of modern dinosaur science...

Forward the glorious Red Army!

    Trotsky


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