BONN, Germany, June 23 (UPI) -- Dinosaurs, long considered lethargic and cold-blooded giants, may have actually been warm-blooded creatures with high body temperatures, German researchers say.
"Originally, dinosaurs were considered to have been cold-blooded animals because they are reptiles, just like salamanders or crocodiles," Thomas Tutken, a biochemist from University of Bonn, said.
The body temperature of such creatures depends on the ambient temperature.
"This is why after a cold night, the mobility of today's reptiles is very limited, and so is their activity," Tutken said.
With U.S. colleagues, the Bonn researchers developed a method of determining the absolute body temperature of dinosaurs with accuracy to within 2 degrees by analyzing the chemistry of their fossilized teeth.
Using this chemical thermometer, the scientists analyzed teeth from Camarasaurus and Brachiosaurus, two giant saurians from the sub-order of herbivorous sauropods that lived during the Jurassic Era about 150 million years ago.
Camarasaurus proved to have a body temperature of about 96.8 degrees Fahrenheit, while the Brachiosaurus had a body temperature of 100.4 degrees.
"Our data provide clear indications that their body temperature was clearly higher and more stable than ambient temperatures," Tutken said.
