With only bones for clues, scientists continue to puzzle over
many details of dinosaur appearances and physiology. Detective
work by a paleontologist at Ohio University now indicates that
the creatures' fleshy nasal passages were larger than had been
thought, which could lead to more-realistic depictions and
greater understanding of their respiratory functions. In the
August 3 issue of the journal Science, National Science
Foundation (NSF)-supported researcher Lawrence Witmer reveals
that nostrils on many dinosaurs were much farther from the eyes
and closer to the mouths than previously depicted. By comparing
telltale markings on bones from their present-day relatives, he
has shown that many dinosaurs had large nasal passages that
might have been important for heat exchange and other key
physiological processes. Witmer is an associate professor of
biomedical sciences and an anatomist in the university's College
of Osteopathic Medicine. X-ray examinations of skulls from more
than 65 surviving dinosaur relative