These ancient aquatic lizards were warm-blooded, study finds

Paleontologists have debated for years over whether or not ancient lizards called mosasaurs were warm-blooded.

Now, a new paper published in the journal Palaeontology has found that the aquatic lizards were in fact warm-blooded, also known as using “thermoregulation”.

“There was a paper published in Science in 2010 reporting the thermoregulation in marine reptiles at the time of the dinosaurs focusing on the iconic extinct taxa: ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs and mosasaurs,” said author of the new study Alberto Perez-Huerta, an associate professor of geology at the University of Alabama. “This conclusion bothered me a bit because there was not a warm-blooded member organism used for comparison, and we know that size can matter in terms of thermoregulation.”

How did the team come to this conclusion?

To reach their conclusion, the study team utilized an oxygen isotope analysis on mosasaur fossils in the University of Alabama’s collection and contrasted them to fossils of recognized cold-blooded animals, like fish and turtles, from the same era, as well as the remains of modern warm-blooded organisms like birds.

According to the study, mosasaurs’ body-temperatures were similar to the temperatures of contemporary, warm-blooded sea birds, indicating mosasaurs were certainly warm-blooded. The study indicated this tendency toward thermoregulation was regardless of the size of mosasur genus or species. Body size also didn’t factor into the results.

“The findings of the present study support that mosasaurs were able to maintain a higher internal temperature independent of the ambient seawater temperature and were likely endotherms (warm-blooded), with values closer to contemporaneous fossil and modern birds and higher than fish and turtles,” the study said. “Although there are small differences of body temperature among mosasaur genera, these are independent of size, and thus inferred body mass.”

In a press release, Perez-Huerta said the finding were possible due to the Alabama Museum of Natural History’s massive collection.

There are great outcroppings containing mosasaur fossils in Alabama,” he said. This research could not have been possible with the great fossil collections housed at the history museum on the University’s campus, and the collaboration of their staff to facilitate our access”

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Image credit: smuki / Fotolia

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