美国加州理工学院科学家6月23日发表研究报告说，他们通过分析牙齿估测了恐龙体温，这一方法将有助于更深入了解恐龙生活习性。研究报告发表在《科学》杂志上。
食草龙牙齿
在动物牙齿内，碳-13和氧-18等重同位素通常聚集在一起，具体聚集形式由温度决定。“在非常高的温度下，这些同位素以更随机方式分布，较为分散；在低温下，你会发现它们更紧密地聚集在一起，”研究报告的主要作者罗伯特·伊格尔说。
科学家收集了分别来自坦桑尼亚和美国的11颗恐龙牙齿，并分析了其中蕴含的同位素碳-13和氧-18。结果确认，一种名为“腕龙”的恐龙的体温在38摄氏度左右。
腕龙体长超过20米，体重80吨左右，是名副其实的庞然大物。伊格尔说，38摄氏度的体温可能意味着这种恐龙行动起来比较快速，而非人们先前所认为的非常迟缓。
科学家一直试图通过各种方法来估测恐龙体温，以了解恐龙的行走速度和生活习性。为了确认分析牙齿推测体温的准确性，伊格尔曾经在活着的大象和鲨鱼身上验证这项技术。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推荐原文出处：
Science DOI： 10.1126/science.1206196
Dinosaur Body Temperatures Determined from Isotopic (13C-18O) Ordering in Fossil Biominerals
Eagle, Robert A.; Tütken, Thomas; Martin, Taylor S.; Tripati, Aradhna K.; Fricke, Henry C.; Connely, Melissa; Cifelli, Richard L.; Eiler, John M.
The nature of the physiology and thermal regulation of the nonavian dinosaurs is the subject of debate. Previously, arguments have been made for both endothermic and ectothermic metabolisms based on differing methodologies. Here, we used clumped isotope thermometry to determine body temperatures from the fossilized teeth of large Jurassic sauropods. Our data indicate body temperatures of 36 to 38°C, which are similar to most modern mammals. This temperature range is 4 to 7°C lower than predicted by a model that showed scaling of dinosaur body temperature with mass, which could indicate that sauropods had mechanisms to prevent excessively high body temperatures being reached due to their gigantic size.
