A scientific discovery revealed the secret behind the size of the largest dinosaurs

the sauropods It was a symbolic clade dinosaurs Long-necked colonized all continents during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Some breeds have reached gigantic sizes, evolve Until they became the largest animals that ever inhabited the terrestrial landscape. One of the properties that allowed the expansion of the body was a structural deterioration Density due to the presence of a bird-like air sac system.

However, this process is not fully understood by science. Now, scientists in Brazil have managed to find the missing link between the first dinosaurs, which ranged in size from approx a few centimeters and max three metresand giants. The conclusions were published in the specialized journal anatomical record.

“Many studies have described the late development and diversification of this trait in middle or late Mesozoic forms, but few have focused on the origin of invasive respiratory diverticula (ARL: alveoli) in sauropodomomorphs. Fortunately, this can be solved thanks to the emergence of new species described in the past decade, as well as the widespread accessibility of new technologies, the scientists said in the document.

Macrocollum itaquii, Buried 225 million years ago in what is now known as Ajudo, a city in the state of Rio Grande do Sul in southern Brazil, it is the oldest studied dinosaur, so far, with structures called Alveoli. These bony cavities, which are still present in modern birds, allowed dinosaurs to do so Capture more oxygen. In this way they achieved Keep their bodies cool And Withstands harsh conditions of his time.

But that’s not all, because they also helped some become giants, as in the cases tyrannosaurus rex and the brachiosaurus, For example. Two of the authors of the article on the study that led to this discovery, researchers at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in São Paulo State, provided details of this discovery.

His alveoli made his bones less intenseallowing it to grow to over 30 meters in length. M. itaquii It was the largest dinosaur of its time, about 3 meters long. A few million years ago, the largest specimens were about 1 meter long. the Alveoli, They undoubtedly facilitated this increase in size,” says Tito Aureliano, first author of the article, which incorporated the study, conducted as part of his research at the Institute of Geosciences (IG-UNICAMP).

The study was a phase of the Taphonomic Landscapes project. Medical science is the study of how organisms decompose and become fossilized, or preserved in the fossil record. The lead researcher of this project, Fresia Ricardi-Branco, Professor at IG-UNICAMP, confirmed that “This was one of the first dinosaurs to walk the earth, in the Triassic period. The air sac adaptation allowed them to grow and weather resistant In this period and beyond in the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. They gave the dinosaurs a evolutionary advantage over other groups, such as mammals, and have been able to diversify faster.”

In a previous study, the group showed the oldest fossils found to date They did not have airbagstaking its absence as a sign that this trait evolved at least three times independently. Macrocollum itaquii It was a bipedal, sauropodomorph, and ancestor of the four-legged giant with a small head and neck at least As long as the trunk.

Until air sacs were discovered in it, these vertebral cavities were known to consist of stony or stony tissues, the former referring to hollow voids observed by microscopy and the latter to spongy bone. According to the authors, in this case they found Indoor air chamberswhich is “neither chamber nor camel, but a new type of cloth with a medium weave”.

They suggested naming the new structures.protocameraBecause it is “not large enough to be considered a camera, but it also presents an array of beauty internally,” they noted in the document. hypothesis The most widespread by far is that airbags started as a cam and evolved into the camel flower. Our suggestion, based on what we observed in this sample, is that this other form exist before anythingAureliano maintained. The vertebrae in which the air sacs were found also change what was known about the evolution of these structures.

Based on previously analyzed fossils, other research groups have suggested that air sacs first appeared in the abdominal region rather than in the cervical region until the early Jurassic period (Do 190 million years), after a long period of time M. itaquii He was alive. Here, however, the authors found clear evidence of air sacs in the cervical and dorsal regions, with no sign of air sacs. structures in the abdominal area.

“It is as if evolution has run various experiments until it comes to the final systemThe alveoli run from the cervical region to the tail. It was not a linear process. Big cyst is an example of gradual development of skeletal tissues that respond to the rapidly specialized respiratory system of saurischian dinosaurs,” Aureliano continued. Of note, Allen M. Gilardi, Rodrigo T. Mueller, Leonardo Kerber, Marcelo A. Fernandez, and Mateo J. Videl also participated in this investigation.

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