A Nose for All Seasons.

BIOLOGICAL systems; NOSE; WARM-blooded animals; COLD-blooded animals; BODY temperature; SALIVARY glands; BLOOD circulation

FEATURES Mammals and birds were able to expand into harsh environments - not conducive to coldblooded reptiles and amphibians - because they developed the capability to internally generate high and constant body temperatures, or homeothermic endothermy. While in principle nasal turbinate systems carry out similar functions in mammals and in birds, the respiratory system of mammals is much different from that of birds. In dogs, as in many mammals, the respiratory turbinate is anatomically separated from the others by a transverse membrane, or lamina. But the clinching evidence for their nearly endothermic physiology is the discovery of intra-nasal conchae that likely supported complex respiratory turbinates. [Extracted from the article]