Oxygen isotope variability in bones of wild caught and constant temperature reared sub-adult American alligators.

(1) The mean delta18O(BP) ( per thousandSMOW) for any given bone sampled from captive alligators maintained at high constant temperature was lower (indicative of higher temperatures of bone deposition) than that of the same bone from wild alligators caught in Northern Florida, but these differences were only greater than two standard deviations from the mean for the thoracic vertebrae and metatarsal bones. (2) Inter-bone variability of delta18O(BP) ( per thousandSMOW) was similar for captive alligators maintained at constant temperatures and the wild alligators, but intra-bone variability was much greater in wild alligators. (3) The order of mean delta18O(BP) ( per thousandSMOW) of bones (from highest to lowest) differed between treatment groups. However, intra-bone variability obscured the significance of those differences. Nevertheless, the thoracic vertebra had the highest mean delta18O(BP) ( per thousandSMOW), indicative of lower temperatures, and the lowest variability of bones in both groups of alligators. Conversely, the tibia was one of the warmest and more variable bones in both groups of alligators. (4) The pattern of delta18O(BP) ( per thousandSMOW) values across sites within long bones were identical between alligator treatment groups for the femur and humerus but differed between groups for the tibia and metatarsus, and differed between different long bones. The predicted intra-bone pattern for long bones of increasing delta18O(BP) ( per thousandSMOW) indicative of lower temperatures in more distal sampling sites was only obtained from the femurs. (5) Paired cortical and cancellous bone samples from the same site from all individuals in both treatment groups were available for proximal humeri and distal femurs. delta18O(BP) ( per thousandSMOW) values from cortical bone were more variable than those from cancellous bone for both bones. (6) Cortical bone had lower delta18O(BP) ( per thousandSMOW) values indicative of warmer temperatures than cancellous bone at sites sampled on the proximal humeri and distal femurs of all three animals from both treatment groups.

Cardiovascular evidence for an intermediate or higher metabolic rate in an ornithischian dinosaur.

Computerized tomography scans of a ferruginous concretion within the chest region of an ornithischian dinosaur reveal structures that are suggestive of a four-chambered heart and a single systemic aorta. The apparently derived condition of the cardiovascular system in turn suggests the existence of intermediate-to-high metabolic rates among dinosaurs.

Thermophysiology of Tyrannosaurus rex: Evidence from Oxygen Isotopes.

The oxygen isotopic composition of vertebrate bone phosphate (delta(p)) is related to ingested water and to the body temperature at which the bone forms. The delta(p) is in equilibrium with the individual's body water, which is at a physiological steady state throughout the body. Therefore, intrabone temperature variation and the mean interbone temperature differences of well-preserved fossil vertebrates can be determined from the deltap variation. Values of delta(p) from a well-preserved Tyrannosaurus rex suggest that this species maintained homeothermy with less than 4 degrees C of variability in body temperature. Maintenance of homeothermy implies a relatively high metabolic rate that is similar to that of endotherms.