Sauropod dinosaurs were restricted to warmer regions of Earth

Brontosaurus - Giant, long-necked sauropods, thought to include the largest land animals ever, preferred to live in warmer regions on Earth, suggesting they may have had a different physiology from other dinosaurs, finds a new study led by researchers at UCL and the University of Vigo. The study, published in the journal Current Biology , investigated the enigma of why sauropod fossils are only found at lower latitudes, while fossils of other main dinosaur types seem ubiquitously present, with many located in the polar regions. The researchers analysed the fossil record across the Mesozoic era (the time of the dinosaurs), lasting from around 230 to 66 million years ago, looking at occurrences of fossils of the three main dinosaur types: sauropods, which include the Brontosaurus and the Diplodocus , theropods ("lizard-hipped"), which include velociraptors and Tyrannosaurus rex , and ornithischians ("bird-hipped") such as the Triceratops . Combining this fossil data with data about climate throughout the period, along with information about how continents have moved across the globe, the researchers concluded that sauropods were restricted to warmer, drier habitats than other dinosaurs. These habitats were likely to be open, semi-arid landscapes, similar to today's savannahs. Co-author Dr Philip Mannion (UCL Earth Sciences) said: "Our research shows that some parts of the planet always seemed to be too cold for sauropods. They seem to have avoided any temperatures approaching freezing.