Scientists Think T. Rex Skulls Had a Ventilation System

Scientists are constantly trying to understand dinosaurs and that can be a little hard since dinosaurs are extinct and have been for a really long time. Well, researchers recently found that the great Tyranosaurus rex may have had a ventilation system in its head. The skull of T. rex features two large holes on the roof similar to alligators. In alligators, these holes are filled with blood vessels and thanks to thermal imaging, researchers believe that alligators use these spots to vent out warm air as Kent Vilet from University of Florida’s Department of Biology states:

“An alligator’s body heat depends on its environment. Therefore, we noticed when it was cooler and the alligators are trying to warm up, our thermal imaging showed big hot spots in these holes in the roof of their skull, indicating a rise in temperature. Yet, later in the day when it’s warmer, the holes appear dark, like they were turned off to keep cool.”

In addition, Larry Witmer of Ohio University’s Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine added:

“We know that, similarly to the T. rex, alligators have holes on the roof of their skulls, and they are filled with blood vessels. Yet, for over 100 years we’ve been putting muscles into a similar space with dinosaurs. By using some anatomy and physiology of current animals, we can show that we can overturn those early hypotheses about the anatomy of this part of the T. rex’s skull.”

The previous belief was that these holes in a T. rex skull housed muscles which would give the dinosaur a stronger bite. As Casey Holliday from University of Missouri-Columbia, said:

“It’s really weird for a muscle to come up from the jaw, make a 90-degree turn, and go along the roof of the skull. Yet, we now have a lot of compelling evidence for blood vessels in this area, based on our work with alligators and other reptiles.

Dinosaurs were likely more warm-blooded than we used to think, more like birds than lizards. Being warmish-blooded would let them not rely on environmental temperatures as much, like cold-blooded lizards, but also control their own body temp through internal means.”

I think it’s amazing how we continue to learn more and more about dinosaurs to this day.

Via: CNN