Anatomical Features Linked To Ventilation and Metabolic Rates Of Fossil Birds and Dinosaurs

9420290 William J. Hillenius 终温， 或 “热血”是 一 动物进化中的重大创新。 由于大多数与内温性相关的生理适应发生在软组织中，并且不会发生，因此内温性的早期进化，包括其在恐龙中的可能存在，在很大程度上仍然是推测性的。 新的证据表明，与哺乳动物中的吸热相关的高代谢率和肺通气率需要鼻子（呼吸道）中的复杂骨结构，以加湿吸入的空气并减少呼吸水分损失。 这项研究将测试是否同样的关联适用于活着的鸟类，并检查化石鸟类及其祖先恐龙，以寻找呼吸道鼻甲存在的证据。 它 将使用非侵入性，高分辨率计算机X射线断层扫描来检查 鼻内解剖化石的鸟类和各种恐龙群体的代表。 研究结果将显示在鸟类进化过程中，内温性是何时出现的，以及恐龙是否以及何时进化出内温性。 这项研究将使人们更好地了解恐龙的生理机能，并可能了解它们灭绝的原因。

9420290 William J. Hillenius Endmthermy, or "warm-bloodedness" was a significant innovation in animal evolution. Because most physiological adaptations associated with endothermy occur in soft tissue and do not fossilize, the early evolution of endothermy, including its possible presence among dinosaurs, remains largely speculative. New evidence suggests that the high metabolic rates and lung ventilation rates associated with endothermy in mammals require complex bony structures in the nose (respiratory turbinals) that humidify inhaled air and decrease respiratory water loss. This research will test to see whether the same association holds for living birds, and examine fossil birds and their ancestors, the dinosaurs, for evidence of the presence of respiratory turbinals. It will use non-invasive, high-resolution computed X-ray tomography scans to examine the nasal internal anatomy of fossils of birds and representatives of a variety of dinosaur groups. The results will show when endothermy arose during the evolution of birds, and whether and when endothermy evolved in dinosaurs. The research will lead to a greater understanding of the physiology of the dinosaurs, and possibly of the reasons for their extinction.