| Pulmonary Function and
Metabolic Physiology in Scipionyxand other Theropod Dinosaurs
J.A. Ruben, C. Dal Sasso, N.R. Geist, W.J.
Hillenius, T.D. Jones, and M. Signore. 1999.
Abstract: Ultraviolet light analysis reveals that the liver subdivides the visceral cavity of the theropod dinosaur Scipionyx samniticus into distinct anterior pleuro-pericardial and posterior abdominal regions. In addition, Scipionyx apparently possessed diaphragmatic musculature and a dorsally attached posterior colon. These features provide evidence that diaphragm-assisted lung ventilation was present in theropods and that these dinosaurs may have utilized a pattern of exercise physiology distinctly unlike that in any group of living tetrapods. |