Re: [dinosaur] Questions from children: "Did dinosaurs have hicups?"

There are some YouTube videos showing bearded dragons (and one blue-tongued skink) exhibiting hiccup-like behaviour, but it's hard to tell if these were "true" hiccups, or if they were just coughing (e.g., https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XFD6QUSfJI).

Interestingly enough, there has been some study on the origin of hiccups that would suggest it should be present as far back as Amphibia. The authors argue that the same central pattern generators responsible for gill breathing, produce hiccups in mammals. So there is some phylogenetic evidence to suggest that it might be present in reptiles, albeit expressed slightly differently.

Straus, C., Vasilakos, K., Wilson, R.J.A., Oshima, T., Zelter, M., Derenne, J-Ph., Similowksi, T., Whitelaw, W.A. 2003. A Phylogenetic Hypothesis for the Origin of Hiccough. BioEssays 25:182â188.

Jason

http://reptilis.net "I am impressed by the fact that we know less about many modern [reptile] types than we do of many fossil groups." - Alfred S. Romer

On Monday, May 7, 2018, 7:19:14 AM CDT, Thomas Richard Holtz <tholtz@umd.edu> wrote:

Bird, lizard, and croc owners: have you ever seen your critters hiccup? (I have not seen them ever do this.)

On Mon, May 7, 2018 at 7:51 AM, Haaramo, Mikko K <mikko.haaramo@helsinki.fi> wrote:

Hi All,

A very good question from a 6-year-old Finnish pre-schooler. :)
My first instinct is no, since dinosaur didn't have diaphragm, but still costal muscles are also involved...

Does someone here have a definite answer? :)

--Mikko Haaramo

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