Dinosaurs are described as a group of reptiles that dominated the earth for about 160 million years in what is referred to as the Mesozoic era. They had a variety of evolutionary characteristics that enabled them to survive diverse ecosystems (Bakker 29). The extinction of most dinosaur groups happened around 65 million years ago save for one, theropods, which evolved into birds (Fricke & Raymond 799). The period in which they existed was characterized by major tectonic and climatic changes with the splitting and drifting of the earth’s land mass, Pangaea, to form the continents. This, therefore, means that these creatures got to adapt to a variety of climatic conditions for survival ranging from tropical deserts to polar ice caps (Huber 2199). …show more content…
Being small helps to quickly absorb and lose body heat due to the increased surface area to volume ratio (Bakker 70). Dinosaurs had achieved immense evolutionary success, and this can only be explained by their supposed endothermy especially considering that most of their species were enormous in size. Small sized mammals coexisted with the dinosaurs, but they were insignificant in comparison (Marsh 413). High order mammals only evolved after the extinction of dinosaurs pointing to the latter’s superiority. Considering the argument that endotherms are superior to ectotherms, it does not make sense for these creatures to have been …show more content…
It is possible that some dinosaurs were endothermic while others were mesothermic but a study of different species that share a common ancestry would need to be explored to determine this. Track ways left in sedimentary rocks that are consistent with dinosaur footprints suggest a habit of migration similar to that of mammals meaning that these creatures were active and warm-blooded (Owen 2140).
Today, many scientists embrace the possibility of a third alternative besides endothermy and ectothermy. While some scientists are satisfied with concluding that dinosaurs are warm-blooded, others still maintain the tie to cold-bloodedness because claims of warm-bloodedness are primarily based on behavioral speculations (Marsh 416). Birds are said to be closely related to the T. Rex, a fierce carnivorous theropod that reduced in size and density to be able to reach higher altitudes in search of food due to ecological congestion and thus competition (Sereno