The Debate Continues!

e debate goes back to the 1960s and earlier. It reached its heyday in the 1980s. Were dinosaurs coldblooded like reptiles, or warm-blooded like mammals? Many scientists came to the conclusion they were neither reptilian nor mammalian, but avian, or bird-like.

A new study reinforces this concept. As reported in the journal Nature, scientists examined bones of several extinct dinosaurs and, for the sake of comparison, a living hummingbird.

eir conclusion? Chemical and infrared spectroscopy analyses show dinosaurs (at least, those in the study) were indeed warm-blooded and had a high metabolism comparable to today’s birds (i.e., avian dinosaurs).