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How Did Dinosaurs Sleep?
Smithsonian Magazine (blog) ^ | 10-9-2012 | Brian Switek

Posted on 10/11/2012 1:09:07 AM PDT by Renfield

Bone by bone and study by study, paleontologists are learning more than ever before about dinosaurs. But there are still many aspects about prehistoric biology that we know little about. In fact, some of the simplest facets of dinosaur lives remain elusive.

For one thing, we don’t know much at all about how dinosaurs slept. Did Apatosaurus doze standing up or kneel down to rest? Did tyrannosaurs use their tiny, muscular arms to push themselves off the ground after a nap? And, given the discovery of so many enfluffled dinosaurs, did fuzzy dinosaurs ever cuddle up together to stay warm on chilly Mesozoic nights?

Since we can’t observe living non-avian dinosaurs directly, some of these questions have to remain in the realm of speculation. But a handful of fossils have shown us that at least some dinosaurs curled up just like birds. In 2004, Xing Xu and Mark Norell described the tiny, early Cretaceous dinosaur Mei long–a feathery troodontid dinosaur with big eyes and a little switchblade claw on each foot. What made Mei special, though, was the way the dinosaur was preserved....

(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.smithsonianmag.com ...


TOPICS: History; Science
KEYWORDS: dinosaur; dinosaurs; godsgravesglyphs; paleontology
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A second specimen of the troodontid Mei, preserved in a bird-like sleeping position. From Gao et al., 2012.

1 posted on 10/11/2012 1:09:09 AM PDT by Renfield
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To: SunkenCiv

Ping


2 posted on 10/11/2012 1:09:48 AM PDT by Renfield (Turning apples into venison since 1999!)
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To: Renfield

Holiday Inn.


3 posted on 10/11/2012 1:13:05 AM PDT by elephantlips
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To: Renfield

with one eye open :)


4 posted on 10/11/2012 1:14:42 AM PDT by Morris70
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To: Renfield; Daffynition; martin_fierro; Tax-chick

5 posted on 10/11/2012 1:29:07 AM PDT by Ezekiel (The Obama-nation began with the Inauguration of Desolation.)
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To: Renfield

Uneasily. There were dinosaurs all around.


6 posted on 10/11/2012 1:39:14 AM PDT by TigersEye (dishonorabledisclosure.com - OPSEC (give them support))
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To: Ezekiel
With a great deal of melancholy and one eye open b/c all their friends were dead. :(


7 posted on 10/11/2012 1:43:53 AM PDT by Daffynition (Self-respect: the secure feeling that no one, as yet, is suspicious. ~ HLM)
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To: Daffynition
With a great deal of melancholy and one eye open b/c all their friends were dead. :(

"How Did Dinosaurs Sleep?"

Permanently. :(

(65 million years in the grave and all I got was a lousy ballot.)

8 posted on 10/11/2012 1:49:36 AM PDT by Ezekiel (The Obama-nation began with the Inauguration of Desolation.)
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To: Renfield
Large doses of Ambien.
9 posted on 10/11/2012 2:27:52 AM PDT by MacMattico
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To: Renfield

“Since we can’t observe living non-avian dinosaurs directly, some of these questions have to remain in the realm of speculation”

Really? You mean like that “fuzziness”?


10 posted on 10/11/2012 3:21:22 AM PDT by count-your-change (You don't have to be brilliant, not being stupid is enough.)
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To: Ezekiel

Bearded dragons go under a rock and curl up with “spikes out” in case a nocturnal predator’s nose comes by.


11 posted on 10/11/2012 3:25:42 AM PDT by Tax-chick (Una bruja.)
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To: Renfield

Well, all I know is I wouldn’t want to sleep with a snoring dinosaur. Imagine!


12 posted on 10/11/2012 3:55:44 AM PDT by CitizenM (Obama - The architect of the decline of the U.S.)
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To: Renfield

I can’t figure out some politicians sleep after screwing up our country so badly.

Why would I care how a Dinosaur slept.


13 posted on 10/11/2012 4:10:52 AM PDT by Venturer
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To: Renfield; StayAt HomeMother; Ernest_at_the_Beach; decimon; 1010RD; 21twelve; 24Karet; ...

 GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach
Thanks Renfield.

To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.


14 posted on 10/11/2012 4:31:03 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: Ezekiel
Don't let Westboro hear you!


15 posted on 10/11/2012 4:53:12 AM PDT by Daffynition (Self-respect: the secure feeling that no one, as yet, is suspicious. ~ HLM)
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To: Daffynition

DINOS are Gay/God Hates DINOS

That had to have been an anti-Barney protest. Well, there *is* that saying about broken clocks..

After all, the purple perv has that book about climbing into bed with kids, ugh.


16 posted on 10/11/2012 5:04:24 AM PDT by Ezekiel (The Obama-nation began with the Inauguration of Desolation.)
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To: Tax-chick
Bearded dragons go under a rock and curl up with “spikes out” in case a nocturnal predator’s nose comes by.

Kind of like "lights out", only different.

17 posted on 10/11/2012 5:09:05 AM PDT by Ezekiel (The Obama-nation began with the Inauguration of Desolation.)
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To: Ezekiel
Fodder. Dino theories are fodder. ;)


18 posted on 10/11/2012 5:12:19 AM PDT by Daffynition (Self-respect: the secure feeling that no one, as yet, is suspicious. ~ HLM)
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To: Ezekiel

They’re a wonderful animal ... as soon as the temperature drops below 80, they just switch off and lie in the sand looking dead. I wish the boys had a similar function!


19 posted on 10/11/2012 5:20:10 AM PDT by Tax-chick (Una bruja.)
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To: Tax-chick

If only, and no need to crank up a/c, either. You would only need to slip those cooler freezer paks into the bedcovers and voila, snoozasaurs, all. Hmmm, good for road trips as well. “Here’s your seat cushion. It’s the law!”


20 posted on 10/11/2012 5:37:16 AM PDT by Ezekiel (The Obama-nation began with the Inauguration of Desolation.)
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