Bird-like lungs may have helped dinosaurs rule the world
24 October 2018
Breathe like a dinosaur
Nature Picture Library / Alamy Stock Photo
By Chelsea Whyte
Many dinosaurs were swift and active animals, which is puzzling given that Earth’s atmosphere contained less oxygen than it does today when dinosaurs ruled. They may have thrived in the challenging conditions due to their efficient bird-like lungs, according to a new study.
“Birds and mammals are highly active and evolved a way of living that requires a lot of oxygen, so their lungs are complicated,” says Robert Brocklehurst at the University of Manchester, UK. “Lizards and snakes have simpler lungs – they don’t need to get a lot of oxygen out of the air because they’re not doing anything with it.”
He and his colleagues compared dinosaur lungs both to those of living crocodilians – which shared a common ancestor with dinosaurs – and to those of birds, which are modern-day descendants of dinosaurs. They removed the lungs of an alligator and an ostrich, and found that the skeletal support structures surrounding the lungs were dramatically different.
Smooth or furrowed
The alligator’s lung cavity is smooth, which Brocklehurst says may allow the lungs and some other internal organs to glide as they move to pump air in and out while the animal swims.
More:
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2183495-bird-like-lungs-may-have-helped-dinosaurs-rule-the-world/
