Dinosaurs may have been a fluffy lot

Sunday Times (United Kingdom) ^ | September 4, 2005 | Jonathan Leake

[manwiththehands]

"Beautiful plumage ..." "... this is an ex t-rex"

[Tribune7]

Scientists can deal in incomplete evidence and still advance knowledge,

And what knowledge was advanced?

[muawiyah]

LMAO

[muawiyah]

Birds live in tropical jungles today. Why not dinosaurs gazillions of years ago?

Besides, we find dinosaur bones in Alaska and Atarctica.

[Reaganesque]

I think I will never look at Monty Python's "Parrot Sketch" the same way again. "Lovely dinosaur the T-Rex. Beautiful plumage!!"

[Tribune7]

Timothy Treadwell

[muawiyah]

It really doesn't matter. The first post was days ago.

The dupes we all worry about are "same day" types. They are annoying.

[muawiyah]

It's still surprising to discover that there's no guard rail at the Niagara River.

[Gwaihir]

I got your point. ;-)

[6SJ7]

"He's extinct, I tell you!"

"No he's not. He's sleeping."

"What; for 65 million years? That's quite a nap!"

[Maceman]

Second, ectotherms ("cold-blooded" animals, although that term is now out of favor) always have problems with regulating their temperatures.

It has generally been accepted among paleontologists since the 1970s that dinosaurs were warm-blooded ("endothermic", if you prefer).

[InvisibleChurch]

It gives a whole new meaning to Tyrannosaurus Rex.

[NicknamedBob]

Well, this settles one thing for me.

People have often speculated about what it would be like to eat a "brontosaur" as Fred Flintstone did.

Now we know. -- It tastes like chicken.

[Tax-chick]

They lost me when they suggested "Walking With Dinosaurs" was something other than complete fiction. At least some people who produce fiction (like you and Anoreth) are honest about making it all up!

[Oztrich Boy]

"Who's a pretty boy then?"

[Renfield]

"...Besides, we find dinosaur bones in Alaska and Atarctica...."

Additionally, remember that climate and weather patterns are not constant. During the Mesozoic, the earth's climate was generally quite a bit warmer than it is now. Go to this link:
http://www.scotese.com/climate.htm
and explore maps of the climate of the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous for a good overview.

[Covenantor]

The fella's nom de bear was Timothy Treadwell. I forget his real name.

[muawiyah]

Alas, not all dinosaurs were fully warm-blooded, so, the question has been, how did they maintain a constant, or nearly constant (and thereby more useful) body temperature?

Feathers (each affixed to little muscles in the hide) which can be opened and closed (fluffed like modern birds do) answers that question.

Now, the big question ~ did they taste like chicken?

[Socratic]

...recapitulationist.

Just don't keep repeating it.

[AngelesCrestHighway]

...THE popular image of Tyrannosaurus rex and other killer dinosaurs may have to be changed as a scientific consensus emerges that many were covered with feathers....What??...Dinosaurs with boas?...another childhood image shattered...Gay Dinosaurs...sick...just sick!