PALAEONTOLOGISTS have found what appears to be a fossilised dinosaur heart in
the chest cavity of a 300-kilogram plant-eating beast that died 66 million years
ago.
The discovery may help resolve a long-running debate over dinosaurs’
metabolism. Early researchers thought dinosaurs were relatively inactive
“cold-blooded” creatures, like modern reptiles and crocodiles. But many
palaeontologists now believe dinosaurs generated their own body heat, allowing
them to lead more active lives. The fossilised heart resembles that of modern
birds and mammals, suggesting the dinosaur was “a pretty active fellow”, says
Dale Russell of North Carolina State University in Raleigh.
The metabolism debate…
