Implications of the Dinosaur Heart Discovery :: Anthropology Essays Paleontology Papers

Implications of the Dinosaur Heart Discovery The article from Science News, â€Å"Telltale Dino Heart Hints at Warm Blood†, by Tina Hesman and the Journal article it was based on from Science, †Cardiovascular Evidence for an Intermediate or Higher Metabolic Rate in an Ornithischian Dinosaur†, by Paul Fisher and others both offer a new perspective on the topic to be discussed, however there are some key differences between the two articles. How the two articles differ will be discussed later on in the paper. Both of the articles discuss the finding of a heart in a dinosaur that when studied challenges a common belief about dinosaurs hearts. Now here is some background information on the dinosaur that is causing this stir because of its heart. The dinosaur is a Thescelosaurus, which means wonderful lizard. The average length of the Thescelosaurus is three to four meters, nine to twelve feet, long with an average weight of three-hundred kilograms, or about six hundred and sixty two pounds. They lived from the Campanian age to Maastrichtian age which are the later stages of the Cretaceous period. Another distinguishing physical feature of Willo is the bird-hips that the dinosaur has instead of the lizard hip. They have primarily been found in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Colorado, Montana, South Dakota, and Wyoming. As far as their remains are concerned there is one complete skeleton, eight partial skeletons, elements, and teeth (Dinosauricon). Dinosaurs are often compared to and resemble modern day reptiles. Scientists will study how these modern day reptiles behave, look, act, and move to draw conclusions on how the dinosaurs would behave, look, act, and move. They also look at the intern make-up of the modern reptiles to predict how the dinosaurs internal make up would be. However, a recent discovery in South Dakota is stirring up some controversy (Hesman). While Mike Hammer was walking around a ranch in South Dakota he stumbled across a â€Å"big-eyed† dinosaur that he now refers to as Willo. The thing that caught his eye was the chest cavity of the dinosaur, upon further investigation he found a rock that was preserved in the curve of the dinosaur’s ribs, he was convinced that this rock was once a heart. Hammer then went on to take the dinosaur fossil in for a medical X-ray scan, this X-ray showed evidence that could change how we think about dinosaurs.