A group of physiologists from Columbia University spent nearly 2 months in southern Florida experimenting on reptiles. They determined the rate of rise of body temperatures of large lizards and alligators of all sizes during exposure to the midday sun. As was expected, the smaller the reptile the more rapid the rise in body temperature. Dinosaurs were reptiles so we can make two assumptions: That their physiology was very similar to that of living reptiles; and that the rate of rise of their body temperatures from exposure to the sun would follow the principles found for living reptiles.
By applying these principles to the dinosaurs, this group of scientists calculated that if the great bulk of an Apatosaurus were exposed to the direct rays of the sun at an air temperature of 110° F. for 36 to 40 hours, its body temperature would rise only 1° F. Therefore, if these calculations are correct, it is probable that the very size of the huge dinosaurs operated to maintain a fairly constant body temperature. Consequently, daily and seasonal temperature changes probably did not affect the activities of the large dinosaurs. However, the activities of the small ones may have been affected by the daily range in temperature.
GIZZARD STONES
For many years rounded stones with a very high polish have been found in the sedimentary rocks which contain bones of extinct reptiles. The polish on these stones is very much higher than could have been applied by the action of water or wind. Some look as though they had been polished by a jeweler. Since we cannot attribute this very high polish to wind or water action, we must seek another agent.
Protiguanodon. NOTE GIZZARD STONES INSIDE RIB BASKET. (COURTESY, AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY.)
Just as chickens swallow fine gravel for their gizzards to aid digestion, so it is thought that some large dinosaurs swallowed stones for the same purpose. There is some evidence to support this idea. Several specimens of a group of swimming reptiles, called plesiosaurs, which swarmed the Jurassic and Cretaceous seas, have been found with highly polished stones inside the rib basket. Also a mass of highly polished stones was found similarly associated with one dinosaur, Protiguanodon, in the Lower Cretaceous rocks of Mongolia.
On the other hand, no highly polished stones have been found associated with the specimens in the Dinosaur Quarry or anywhere in the quarry. A search of the many publications on dinosaurs has not turned up any mention of highly polished stones being associated with any of the many specimens found in North America. Thus the evidence which we have does not permit us to say that the dinosaurs found in the quarry did or did not possess gizzard stones.
The Climate, Life, and Landscape of Jurassic Time
The geologists who attempt to reconstruct the geography and climate of the Jurassic Period first gather all possible facts and try to fit them together to form a logical pattern. The results are then examined for weak points and an attempt is made to find field evidence throwing light on these weak points. The final result represents the sum of our knowledge at the time but is subject to change as new facts are obtained. Thus the following outline represents present thinking that may be changed somewhat by future studies.