The
titannosaurs became extinct 66 million years ago. Their size restricted their
mobility, thermo regulation and blood supply to the organs. The study deployed
modeling techniques and statistics to assess the prehistoric physiology, size,
metabolism and organ function.
The Automatic nervous system ensured blood flow
to the brain through muscle contraction and special boney structures in the
neck called cervical ribs. In order to keep face with the huge metabolic needs of the body, the animal could sleep for only 3 hrs a day and had very high body temperatures which increased with activity. There was an in-built cooling
mechanism in their carotid arteries to preserve the brain function. This study
identified that growth-lines in osteons in the anterior process of the rib grew
faster than dense bone and juveniles grew faster than adults Power spectral
analyses of growth intervals in osteons showed a ratio of 1.3 (LF/HF) and for
bone 1.4 (LF/HF) NS.The life span of the animal was 100 years.
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