--- K and T Dykes <ktdykes@arcor.de> wrote:
> <<In the proposed scenario of heat radiation coming
> from the cloudless sky,
> dinosaur needs not swim to survive. It is enough to
> submerge in shallow
> water, which will conduct heat absorbed by the body.
> The same scenario
> explains why crocodilians survived.>>
>
> Nobody proposed a scenario with a cloudless sky,
> Jerzy, seeing as the
> authors explicitely mentioned the possible screening
> effects of cloud cover.
> We know many crocs are very good at staying
> submerged, but I don't know of
> good evidence showing the same for non-birdy dinos.
>
> <<Number of tracks of swimming dinosaurs were
> discussed on this list few
> weeks ago.>>
>
> I know, but that's hardly evidence for semi-aquatic
> adaptations or abilities
> at staying submerged (or indeed burrowing).
I am _not_ trying to say this is germane to k/t
extinction patterns (don't think it is); nevertheless,
I would like to point out that the ability to hold
breath correlates positively w/ body size. Large dinos
may not have needed (detectable) adaptations to stay
submerged for significant periods of time. Never seen
this mentioned in discussions of sauropod
lifestyles...