Abstract Modern reconstructions of extinct dinosaur locomotion represent a pinnacle of computational biomechanics, yet they suffer from a fundamental omission of the thermodynamic constraints governing peripheral neurology. While high-fidelity simulations focus on musculature and skeletal stress, they operate under the physically impossible assumption of uniform Neural Conduction Velocity (NCV). In extant avian relatives, regional heterothermy allows distal limb temperatures to drop significantly, often reaching the "cold-block" threshold where myelinated nerve fibers cease effective signal transmission. This study identifies a Universal Error of Omission: the failure to account for the Q10 effect on peripheral feedback loops. Using the framework of Cascading Structural Integration, we demonstrate that real-time neural regulation of the foot in a cold-legged extinct dinosaur is a biological impossibility due to sub-threshold latency. Consequently, the skeletal system must be viewed as a solid-state mechanical computer—a rigid kinetic chain that manages sub-millisecond gait adjustments via bone conduction rather than neural pathways. This paper establishes a new physiological mandate for biomechanical modeling, requiring the integration of thermal-neural variables to achieve biological compliance.
Charles Darryl Potts (Thu,) studied this question.