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Our understanding of the evolutionary transitions leading to the modern endothermic state of birds and mammals is incomplete, partly because tools available to study the thermophysiology of extinct vertebrates are limited. Here we show that clumped isotope analysis of eggshells can be used to determine body temperatures of females during periods of ovulation. Late Cretaceous titanosaurid eggshells yield temperatures similar to large modern endotherms. In contrast, oviraptorid eggshells yield temperatures lower than most modern endotherms but ∼ 6 °C higher than co-occurring abiogenic carbonates, implying that this taxon did not have thermoregulation comparable to modern birds, but was able to elevate its body temperature above environmental temperatures. Therefore, we observe no strong evidence for end-member ectothermy or endothermy in the species examined. Body temperatures for these two species indicate that variable thermoregulation likely existed among the non-avian dinosaurs and that not all dinosaurs had body temperatures in the range of that seen in modern birds.

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Little is known about the fractionation of Li isotopes during formation of biogenic carbonates, which form the most promising geological archives of past seawater composition.Here we investigated the Li isotope composition (δ 7 Li) and Li/Ca ratios of organisms that are abundant in the Phanerozoic record, mollusks (mostly bivalves), echinoderms, and brachiopods. The measured samples include (i) modern calcite and aragonite shells from variable species and natural environments (13 mollusk samples, 5 brachiopods and 3 echinoderms), and (ii) shells from organisms grown under controlled conditions at various temperatures. When possible, the mollusk shell ultrastructure was micro-sampled in order to assess intra-shell heterogeneity. In this paper, we systematically characterize the respective influence of mineralogy, temperature, and biological processes on the δ 7 Li and Li/Ca of these shells and compare with published data for other taxa (foraminifera and corals).Aragonitic mollusks have the lowest δ 7 Li, ranging from +16 to +22‰, echinoderms have constant δ 7 Li of about +24‰, brachiopods have δ 7 Li of +25 to +28‰, and finally calcitic mollusks have the largest range and highest δ 7 Li values, ranging from +25‰ to +40‰. Measured brachiopods have similar δ 7 Li compared to inorganic calcite precipitated from seawater (δ 7 Li of +27 to +29‰), indicating minimum influence of vital effects, as also observed for other isotope systems and making them a potentially viable proxy of past seawater composition. Calcitic mollusks, on the contrary, are not a good archive for seawater paleo-δ 7 Li because many samples have significantly higher δ 7 Li values than inorganic calcite and display large inter-species variability, which suggest large vital effects. In addition, we observe very large intra-shell variability, in particular for mixed calcitearagonite shells (over 20‰ variability), but also in mono-mineralic shells (up to 12‰ variability). Aragonitic bivalves have less variable δ 7 Li (7‰ variability) compared to calcitic mollusks, but with significantly lower δ 7 Li compared to inorganic aragonite, indicating the existence of vital effects. Bivalves grown at various temperatures show that temperature has only a minor influence on fractionation of Li isotopes during shell precipitation. Interestingly, we observe a strong correlation (R 2 =0.83) between the Li/Mg ratio in bivalve Mytilus edulis and temperature with potential implications for paleo-temperature reconstructions.Finally, we observe a negative correlation between the δ 7 Li and both the Li/Ca and Mg/Ca ratio of calcite mollusks, which we relate to biomineralization processes.

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During and after the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill (DWHOS), oysters (Crassostrea virginica) were exposed to oil and susceptible to incidental consumption of surface and subsurface oil materials. We determined the contribution of oil materials from the DWHOS to diet of oysters by comparing carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) stable isotope ratios in oyster shell to ratios in suspended particulate matter (SPM) and in fresh and weathered oil. Average δ(13)C and δ(15)N values in oyster shell (-21 ± 1‰ and 9-11‰, respectively) were consistent with consumption of naturally available SPM as opposed to values in oil (-27 ± 0.2‰, 1.6 ± 0.4‰). Stable isotope ratios in oyster adductor muscle were similar to shell for δ(15)N but not δ(13)C, suggesting either a recent shift in diet composition or differential assimilation of C between tissue types. We found no evidence of assimilation of oil-derived C and N and, therefore, no evidence of an oyster-based conduit to higher trophic levels. Trace elements in shell were inconclusive to corroborate oil exposure. These findings are not an indication that oysters were not exposed to oil; rather they imply oysters either did not consume oil-derived materials or consumed too little to be detectable compared to natural diet.

We utilize carbonate clumped isotope thermometry to explore the diagenetic and thermal histories of exhumed brachiopods, crinoids, cements, and host rock in the Permian Palmarito Formation, Venezuela, and the Carboniferous Bird Spring Formation, Nevada, USA. Carbonate components in the Palmarito Formation, buried to ~4 km depth, yield statistically indistinguishable clumped isotope temperatures [T(Δ 47 )] ranging from 86 to 122 °C. Clumped isotope temperatures of components in the more deeply buried Bird Spring Formation (>5 km) range from ~100 to 165 °C and differ by component type, with brachiopods and pore-filling cements yielding the highest T(Δ 47 ) (mean = 153 and 141 °C, respectively) and crinoids and host rock yielding significantly cooler T(Δ 47 ) (mean = 103 and 114 °C). New high-resolution thermal histories are coupled with kinetic models to predict the extent of solid-state C-O bond reordering during burial and exhumation for both sites. Application of these models, termed "THRMs" (thermal history reordering models), suggests that brachiopods in the Palmarito Formation experienced partial bond reordering without complete equilibration of clumped isotopes at maximum burial temperature. In contrast, clumped isotope bonds of brachiopods from the Bird Spring Formation completely equilibrated at maximum burial temperature, and now reflect blocking temperatures achieved during cooling. The 40-50-°C-cooler clumped isotope temperatures measured in Bird Spring Formation crinoids and host rock can be explained by recrystallization and cementa tion during shallow burial combined with a greater inherent resistance to solid-state reordering than brachiopods.