If you've ever found the evolutionary journey from dinosaur to chicken a little hard to imagine, scientists can help, as they've just added another step on the path - and it might involve a series of colossal volcanic eruptions across the planet.
A new study, led by researchers at University College London and the University of Vigo in Spain reveals the moment, 180 million years ago, when some dinosaurs developed endothermy: the ability to regulate their body temperature and generate internal heat. This trait of being 'warm-blooded' is shared by mammals and birds today.
It's only in the last few years that research has challenged the established understanding that dinosaurs were all cold-blooded animals, like today's reptiles. The fact that some had feathers suggested they might have been endothermic. But the question of when warm-blooded dinosaurs first appeared, including the ancestors of modern-day birds, was not known until now.
The researchers think these dinosaurs emerged in the Early Jurassic period, at a time of intense volcanic activity that forced species to adapt to climate change across the planet. The so-called 'Jenkyns Event', approximately 183 million years ago, saw lava and volcanic gasses burst through giant fissures in Earth's surface, leading to global warming and the extinction of plant groups. The study suggests that this split up the main dinosaur groups as they developed different climate preferences.
"I was surprised [by the results], particularly with the coincidence of the majority of evolutionary change at the Jenkyns Event," first author Dr Alfio Alessandro Chiarenza told BBC Science Focus. "This is a relatively newly recognised hyperthermal (global warming) event in our geologic record and the fact that it might have had such an influence on global ecosystems, and also have affected the evolution of dinosaurs, is quite a new concept."
Published in the journal Current Biology, the study analysed the spread of dinosaurs across different climates during the Mesozoic era (230-66 million years ago) through 1,000 fossils, climate models, geography and evolutionary trees.
Resea...
A new study, led by researchers at University College London and the University of Vigo in Spain reveals the moment, 180 million years ago, when some dinosaurs developed endothermy: the ability to regulate their body temperature and generate internal heat. This trait of being 'warm-blooded' is shared by mammals and birds today.
It's only in the last few years that research has challenged the established understanding that dinosaurs were all cold-blooded animals, like today's reptiles. The fact that some had feathers suggested they might have been endothermic. But the question of when warm-blooded dinosaurs first appeared, including the ancestors of modern-day birds, was not known until now.
The researchers think these dinosaurs emerged in the Early Jurassic period, at a time of intense volcanic activity that forced species to adapt to climate change across the planet. The so-called 'Jenkyns Event', approximately 183 million years ago, saw lava and volcanic gasses burst through giant fissures in Earth's surface, leading to global warming and the extinction of plant groups. The study suggests that this split up the main dinosaur groups as they developed different climate preferences.
"I was surprised [by the results], particularly with the coincidence of the majority of evolutionary change at the Jenkyns Event," first author Dr Alfio Alessandro Chiarenza told BBC Science Focus. "This is a relatively newly recognised hyperthermal (global warming) event in our geologic record and the fact that it might have had such an influence on global ecosystems, and also have affected the evolution of dinosaurs, is quite a new concept."
Published in the journal Current Biology, the study analysed the spread of dinosaurs across different climates during the Mesozoic era (230-66 million years ago) through 1,000 fossils, climate models, geography and evolutionary trees.
Resea...
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BBC Science Focus (Digital) - 1 Issue, June 2024