Fossil biomolecules reveal an avian metabolism in the ancestral dinosaur
Wiemann J, Menéndez I, Crawford JM, Fabbri M, Gauthier JA, Hull PM, Norell MA, Briggs DEG. Fossil biomolecules reveal an avian metabolism in the ancestral dinosaur. Nature 2022, 606: 522-526. PMID: 35614213, DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04770-6.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsHigh metabolic rateCretaceous mass extinctionTerminal Cretaceous mass extinctionLate Cretaceous taxaMetabolic rateCrown mammalsAvian lineagesAncestral stateEcological nichesGiant sauropodsCretaceous taxaMammalsMetabolic abilitiesMetabolic performanceMass extinctionBirdsPhysiological activityEndothermyAvian metabolismCostly adaptationsMetabolismVivo accumulationTheropodsOrnithischiansEctotherms