"Unearthing the Ancient Secrets: How Dinosaurs Revolutionized Breathing with Bones"
Paleontologists have discovered that dinosaurs and their relatives evolved a hyper-efficient breathing system known as postcranial skeletal pneumaticity, which involves air sacs within bones that enable unidirectional breathing. This system, also found in birds, allowed for rapid oxygen intake and heat extraction. Through the study of fossil microstructure, researchers determined that this respiratory adaptation evolved independently in three lineages of extinct species. The evolution of air sacs likely began in the Triassic period, and it may have been driven by the hot climate at the time. The findings shed light on the convergent evolution of breathing systems and the role they played in the success and size of dinosaurs.