24/7 Space News
EARLY EARTH
Hollow bones that let dinosaurs become giants evolved at least three times
A study published in 2021 by researchers from South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada had already shown that another dinosaur lineage, the ornithischians, also lacked structures that could have housed air sacs. This order of dinosaurs probably emerged later, in the Jurassic (between 201 million and 145 million years ago), and included the popular Triceratops.
Hollow bones that let dinosaurs become giants evolved at least three times
by Staff Writers
Sao Paulo, Brazil (SPX) Mar 13, 2023

Dinosaurs as big as buses or five-story buildings would not be possible if their bones were dense and heavy like ours. Like present-day birds, dinosaurs had hollow bones with inner structures known as air sacs, which made their skeletons lighter and less dense. These structures were apparently so advantageous that they emerged at least three times during the evolution of dinosaurs and pterosaurs (flying reptiles), according to a study supported by FAPESP and described in an article in Scientific Reports.

"Less dense bones containing more air gave the dinosaurs and pterosaurs [and still give birds] more oxygen circulating in their blood, as well as more agility to hunt, flee and fight, or even to fly. They not only used less energy but also kept their bodies cool more efficiently," said Tito Aureliano, first author of the article. The study was part of his PhD research at the State University of Campinas's Institute of Geosciences (IG-UNICAMP).

Aureliano analyzed fossilized bones from three Brazilian species of the Late Triassic (about 233 million years ago), the period in which the dinosaurs emerged. All the bones were found in recent decades in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil's southernmost state.

Detailed knowledge of specimens belonging to different groups and dating from an early stage in their evolution provides a basis for understanding when certain traits were developed. In this case, the researchers were looking for signs of the presence of air sacs, which were commonplace in geologically more recent (and more studied) species, such as tyrannosauruses or velociraptors, and are found in present-day birds, as noted earlier. Air sacs are found in bones throughout the body next to the spinal column.

Computerized tomography was used to visualize the fossils' internal structures. Small spaces in the vertebrae were identified as foramina for veins, arteries and marrow, and attachment points for muscles and tendons could be seen, but none appeared capable of serving as pneumatic chambers through which air might have flowed continuously.

"The Triassic was very warm and dry. What's now Rio Grande do Sul was far from the sea in the heart of the supercontinent Pangea. In that context, more oxygen circulating in the blood would cool the body more efficiently and certainly afford a welcome advantage, so much so that it evolved at least three times independently," said Fresia Ricardi-Branco, penultimate author of the article, a professor at IG-UNICAMP, and principal investigator for the FAPESP-funded project of which the study was part.

Pneumaticity
The fossils analyzed were found between 2011 and 2019 by researchers at the Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM) in an area known as Quarta Colonia near Santa Maria in Rio Grande do Sul. Some of those researchers are co-authors of the article.

The fossils belonged to three species: Buriolestes schultzi, Pampadromaeus barberenai and Gnathovorax cabreirai. The first two were sauropodomorphs, the group of long-necked dinosaurs that became the largest animals to walk the planet. The third was a herrerasaurid, one of the earliest carnivorous dinosaurs. The lineage became extinct shortly after the period in which this specimen lived.

A study published in 2021 by researchers from South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada had already shown that another dinosaur lineage, the ornithischians, also lacked structures that could have housed air sacs. This order of dinosaurs probably emerged later, in the Jurassic (between 201 million and 145 million years ago), and included the popular Triceratops.

The data collected on ornithischians, herrerasaurids and sauropods showed that air sacs evolved independently in each group. "We discovered that no common ancestor had this trait. All three groups must have developed air sacs independently," Aureliano said.

The other groups that had air sacs were the pterosaurs (including pterodactyls) and the theropods (including tyrannosaurs and velociraptors, as well as extant birds). Although they descended from B. schultzi and P. barberenai, in the long-necked lineage, hollow bones only evolved later. Exactly when is not yet known.

"The oldest dinosaurs in the world are in South America and have been discovered only in the past two decades," Ricardi-Branco said. "More of this kind of research needs to be done to show how the dominant organisms of the period coped with a much warmer climate than ours."

Research Report:The absence of an invasive air sac system in the earliest dinosaurs suggests multiple origins of vertebral pneumaticity

Related Links
Sao Paulo Research Foundation
Explore The Early Earth at TerraDaily.com

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
EARLY EARTH
Major North American oil source yields clues to one of earth's deadliest mass extinctions
College Park MD (SPX) Mar 09, 2023
The Bakken Shale Formation-a 200,000-square-mile shale deposit below parts of Canada and North Dakota-has supplied billions of barrels of oil and natural gas to North America for 70 years. A new discovery reveals that the rocks also open a uniquely informative window into Earth's complicated geological history. A research team, which included geologists from the University of Maryland, George Mason University and the Norwegian oil and gas company Equinor, developed a new framework for analyzing pa ... read more

EARLY EARTH
NASA SpaceX Crew-5 splashes down after 5-month mission

China to revamp science, tech in face of foreign 'suppression'

DLR goes all in with new technology at the Startup Factory

SpaceX Dragon crew enter International Space Station

EARLY EARTH
Private firm to launch maiden rocket flight in Spain

Launch of Relativity Space's 3D-printed rocket aborted

Launch of world's first 3D-printed rocket canceled at last second

Relativity Space postpones first 3D-printed rocket launch

EARLY EARTH
Taking turns with Tapo Caparo: Sols 3766-37368

Don't Dream and Drive: Sols 3764-3765

Layering history shows how water and carbon dioxide have moved across Mars

NASA's Curiosity Views First 'Sun Rays' on Mars

EARLY EARTH
Shenzhou XV crew takes second spacewalk

China conducts ignition test in Mengtian space lab module

China plans robotic spacecraft to collect samples from asteroid

China's space station experiments pave way for new space technology

EARLY EARTH
Eutelsat and Intelsat sign multi-orbit contract enhancing connectivity with OneWeb

SpaceX launches 40 OneWeb internet satellites, lands booster

Australian astronaut candidate to receive basic training with ESA

AST SpaceMobile Announces Teaming Agreement with Fairwinds Technologies

EARLY EARTH
Costa Rica's 'urban mine' for planet-friendlier lithium

New method accelerates data retrieval in huge databases

Experiment unlocks bizarre properties of strange metals

Investigation will test 3D printed materials for satellite manufacturing

EARLY EARTH
How do microbes live off light

Distant star TOI-700 has two potentially habitable planets

Life in the smoke of underwater volcanoes

Astronomers find missing link for water in the Solar System

EARLY EARTH
First the Moon, now Jupiter

Newly discovered form of salty ice could exist on surface of extraterrestrial moons

New aurorae detected on Jupiter's four largest moons

JUICE's final take-off before lift-off

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.