Re: [Re: Insulation does not = "Warm-blooded"]

["Adam Britton" <abritton@wmi.com.au>]

From: "David Marjanovic" <david.marjanovic@gmx.at>
Sent: Thursday, April 26, 2001 2:15 AM

> 1. It is often stated that alligators can outsprint humans -- are they so
> much faster than the Australian freshwater croc, or do these reports
> consider rather slow people? :-/

That's a load of TV-sound-bite nonsense. Gators can't get much past 11 to 12
kph maximum (with a mean less than 10 kph). They also cannot gallop, which
is what's being discussed here. Galloping is the quickest form of
terrestrial locomotion in crocodylomorphs, only recorded reliably in three
extant species to date, but practised by a number of extinct species.
Australian freshies are the fastest crocs clocked to date, but they do it as
a form of escape, not chase. Good job, really.


> Seems P&L (whose estimates are otherwise always on the high end, IMHO)
> disagree.

Sadly I didn't catch the start (or the middle!) of this thread. Can you give
me the P&L citation you keep mentioning?

Also, have you considered that insulation also has disadvantages as well,
for cooling down quickly? It's great if you have physiological adaptations
to help cool down faster, but if not then insulation could be risky. And of
course, lack of insulation doesn't mean cold blooded either, for the same
reason. Apologies if I missed this part of the discussion.

Adam