Cold bloodedness

[tmazanec1]

I just borrowed THE NEW DINOSAURS by Dixon (great book, BTW). It has a small speculation on how dinosaurs might have evolved intelligence. It points out that cold-bloodedness is likely not compatible with intelligence. It also points out that most intelligent dinosaurs in science fiction are villainous, because of their cold-blooded natures (not that warm-bloodedness stopped the Nazis, of course), and so are implausible. But we know Randall was actually warm-blooded! Interesting observation.

[pitbulllady]

tmazanec1 said:

I just borrowed THE NEW DINOSAURS by Dixon (great book, BTW). It has a small speculation on how dinosaurs might have evolved intelligence. It points out that cold-bloodedness is likely not compatible with intelligence. It also points out that most intelligent dinosaurs in science fiction are villainous, because of their cold-blooded natures (not that warm-bloodedness stopped the Nazis, of course), and so are implausible. But we know Randall was actually warm-blooded! Interesting observation.

There is OVERWHELMING evidence that dinosaurs were NOT cold-blooded, but were in fact very much like birds in terms of their metabolism and growth rate. Micro sections of bone, viewed under a microscope, reveal that dinosaurs, unlike modern reptiles, had a blood-vessel-rich bone matrix, promoting rapid growth not possible in an ectothermic animal. In one unique fossil, in which the internal organs were preserved, the heart was found to contain four chambers, whereas a reptile heart only has three. This makes their blood/oxygen delivery system relatively inefficient, compared to a bird's or mammal's, which is why reptiles quickly build up CO2 and dangerous levels of lactic acid in their tissues from any prolonged strenuous activity, and tire out very fast.

I do not doubt, however, that being cold-blooded automatically means being stupid. I've owned an Asian Water Monitor, and several iguanas in the past, and I can personally vouch for the intelligence of these animals, compared to most dogs. An animal behaviorist who is also a police and military K-9 trainer and officer with the Secret Service once had an opportunity to work with the Komodo Dragons(also a Monitor species)in the National Zoo in Washington, DC, and his conclusion was that these lizards compared in intelligence, problem-solving and learning-wise, with a well-bred German Shepherd of working European bloodlines, the type used for police and military training, and that this basically means that their overall intellectual ability is roughly equal to that of a 3-5 year-old human child. I have seen another Asian Water Monitor belonging to another K-9 officer in the Mecklenburg, NC, police dept., trained to the level of a police dog, including narcotics and accelerant detection.

Randall, however, is not cold-blooded, as I've pointed out. He could not possibly do as much physical things as he does if he was, and even that brief exposure to the horrific cold blast from that door in the Himalayas would have been sufficient to throw him into deadly thermal shock due to the sudden drop in his body temperature. He also has something that most modern reptiles, with the exception of the crocodilians(which are more closely related to birds and dinosaurs than to lizards), lack, and that is a diaphragm to assist with breathing. That is pretty much a mammalian trait, so internally and metabolically, Randall is probably more like a mammal than either a bird or a reptile.

pitbulllady

[RandallBoggs]

Well raptors, who were considered very intellegent in terms of grouping together and trapping, were, if I recall, related to birds more than reptiles.

In terms of intellegence. Reptiles, haven given the chance to evolve as far as humans had, and in similiar ways, are vastly more intellegent. A theory proposing the Barringer Meteor, in terms of wording, the "big meteor that hit earth millions of years ago and killed the dinosaurs", would have led the reptiles to become the dominate, and intellegent race, of Earth.

Heh. Might be a time to bring up that one monitor story you had Pitbulllady. About that one in the kennel and the one jerk taunting it with a sandwhich.

[tmazanec1]

B.S. in Astronomy quibble: The Barringer Crate is the one in Arizona, formed in geologically recent times. The "biggie" was the Chixculub one off the Yucatan.

[Deleted]

Heheheh, looks like you were a little off Sean. He's right you know, that meteor hit the Earth about 50,000 years ago......Dinosaurs were pretty much gone by then. Not to mention.....this particular meteor didn't even throw up enough dust to seriously effect the global climate.

Hated to have to say that but.... <shrugs> Couldn't really argue with the truth ^_^

[RandallBoggs]

A simple error made. I don't see the big deal heh.

[Deleted]

Yeah well....ahem, your "research" wasn't it like....infallible? You were quite adamant about it when you touted it back then. Heh, sorry shouldn't have brought this up ^_^

[RandallBoggs]

Hehehe...research is never infallible...I have info, piecing it together is another thing ^_^

[Deleted]

Still you DID seem quite sure when you presented that stuff to me.

Anyways, my point's been made, I shall speak no more of this.