Quote Originally Posted by Xotik View Post
Yes. Yes I did confuse them. I just got done my finals for my Dinosaurs class for this semester, I guess its a good thing I did my finals on Ceratopsians.

They do need to rethink the entire tree, but they still haven't proven whether or not pterosaurs are ecto or endothermic, and they haven't proven that dinosaurs are cold-blooded. According to my textbooks from class, there is more information to support a warm-blooded creature - though there still is plenty to support cold-bloodedness.

Also - in addition to my earlier statement of an Anaconda, yeah I want an Alligator too..
It's actually a done deal that dinosaurs were endothermic--only warm-blooded animals need insulation. It's detrimental for ectotherms to be insulated, so when you see insulation, you know you have an endotherm. That means both pterosaurs and dinosaurs were endotherms. Sometimes scientists appear to be a bit too myopic to use common sense. (Then, too, the metabolism of flying animals is tremendous, no ecotherm could sustain it--you find only gliders in the reptile class).

Personally, I agree with Bakker--endothermy probably arose in the era of the pseudosuchids and the proto-mammals. Not just dinosaurs and mammals, but their immediate ancestors, were also warm-blooded animals. The shift in skeletal design to an upright stance probably accompanied the ability to produce heat internally. They didn't necessarily produce it well, but they did produce it. (Again with logic-- modern crocodilians are able to produce some heat internally, and hedgehogs produce heat poorly, but of course, are still endotherms--the oldest placental mammals (oldest order, anyhow) and the most modern reptiles are probably representative of the animals that arose in that time).

Still, there's little reason left to believe that dinosaurs were truly reptiles, or that pterosaurs were either, for that matter. (At least, if ectothermy and scaley hide without feathers are necessary for an animal to be considered a reptile--if not, then birds are clearly reptiles.

I prefer to stick to pets that cannot kill me either accidentally or deliberately.
I like Chamaeleo quadricornis, always have. I wouldn't mind having some other species of chameleons as well.
I also like black roughneck monitors, and blue and green tree monitors.