Are Dinosaurs Warm Blooded

This is a question that been debated for years. We might never know the answer because we just don't have enough evidence to prove one way or another. Yes we do have their bones and teeth. With those two items we are able to tell how old and how large the dinosaurs were. With out the organic matter such as the blood and collagen it makes it almost impossible to conclude if the dinosaurs were warm or cold-blooded.

When an animals dies, all of the organic matter decomposes, even what is in the bones. The skin, blood and collage decompose rapidly, the harder tissues retain their structural. Even over millions of years the fossils that when have found allows us to compare their bones to the living animals of today. A bone is a living tissue a many biological signs are recorded in its microstructure. Animals have reflecting rings to shows us the fast growing season and the slower growing seasons. The rings in the bones can be counted to estimate the age of the individual animal. This study is termed skeletochronology.

There are two terms to describe animals body temperature; either they are ectothermic or endothermic. Many reptiles' body temperatures, such as lizards, snakes, and crocodiles will vary according to what the environmental temperature is. Animals that are known to be warm-blooded or Endotherms are able to control or regulate their body temperatures and have higher rates of metabolism. Being able to maintain their body temperature allows them to sustained greater rate of energy production, which in turn leads to higher activity and faster growth rates. The ectotherms body temperature is depend on what the environment temperature is, so their activities will vary on whether the temperature is warm or cold. In cold weather ectotherms are not very active and hardly eat.

Dinosaurs have microstructure characteristic that are seen in either endotherms or ectotherms living animals of today. We just don't have enough information to determine for sure one way or another.