Animals hibernate for long periods of time, a new study shows. Researchers have analyzed fossils 250 million years old and found evidence that a pig-sized mammal is called a genus. Listrosorus, Today hibernated like bears and bats.
Under normal conditions it is almost impossible to detect signs of a change in metabolic rate in fossils – but stout, four-legged Listrosorus There was a pair of tusks that grew steadily throughout his life, no different from a tree ring in the trunk, leaving behind a record of activity.
By comparing the cross-section of the Tuscan from six Antarctic Listrosorus Four to Tuscan cross-section Listrosorus Researchers in South Africa were able to detect low growth and high stress periods for Antarctic specimens.
How Listrosaurs would have looked when hibernating. (Crystal Shin)
The marks correspond to similar stages in the teeth of modern-day animals that hibernate at certain points during the year. That is not definitive proof Listrosorus Passive, but it is the oldest evidence of today.
“Animals living near or near the poles faced a more extreme environment,” says Megan Whitney, a vertebrate paleontologist at Harvard University. “These preliminary findings suggest that entering a hibernation-like condition is not a relatively new type of adaptation. It is an ancient one.”
A hibernation state or torpedo may be good for animals living near the South Pole at that time. Although the region was very hot during the Triassic period, seasonal variations can still be observed in the number of daylight hours.
It is very possible Listrosorus It was not the only hibernating animal of the time, and some of the later dinosaurs may have become inactive. The problem is that most of the species at that time did not have ever-growing tusks or even teeth.
“To see the specific signs of stress and strain brought about by hibernation, you need to look at something that could be fossilized and was constantly evolving throughout the animal’s life,” says Christian Sidor, a biologist at Washington University. “Many animals don’t have that, but luckily Listrosorus Did. “
There are plenty of things that this can teach us about the evolutionary history of the species, the idea of being able to adapt to the corresponding physiological functions that may be important for a period of mass extinction supports the idea that flexible physiology.
Scientists continue to find out more about how hibernation works and how it can be stimulated in animals. If we can find out how the same biological trick works in humans, it can give us new ways to fight the disease.
Further studies will be able to look in more detail at the question of what is or is not Listrosorus Torpor could have entered a deeper state, but this new analysis already draws some interesting parallels that span millions of years.
“Cold-blooded animals often shut down their metabolism completely during the extreme season, but many end-of-life or warm-blooded animals that always hibernate reactivate their metabolism during the hibernation period,” says Whitney. Says Whitney.
“What we have observed in the Antarctic Listrosorus Tusk fits a pattern of small metabolic reactivation events during periods of stress, much more similar to what we see today in warm-blooded hibernators. “
Research has been published in Communications Biology.
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