Patagonian fossils show Jurassic dinosaur had the herd mentality
Reuters
Saturday, October 23rd 2021, 1:15 pm - The animals experienced a mass-death event, probably caused by a drought, and their bodies were subsequently buried by wind-blown dust, the researchers said.
By Will Dunham
(Reuters) - A vast trove of fossils unearthed in Argentina's southern Patagonia region is offering the oldest-known evidence that some dinosaurs thrived in a complex and well-organized herd structure, with adults caring for the young and sharing a communal nesting ground.
Scientists said on Thursday the fossils include more than 100 dinosaur eggs and the bones of about 80 juveniles and adults of a Jurassic Period plant-eating species called Mussaurus patagonicus, including 20 remarkably complete skeletons. The animals experienced a mass-death event, probably caused by a drought, and their bodies were subsequently buried by wind-blown dust, the researchers said.
"It is a pretty dramatic scene from 193 million years ago that was frozen in time," said paleontologist Diego Pol of the Egidio Feruglio Paleontological Museum in Trelew, Argentina, who led the research published in the journal Scientific Reports.
Mussaurus, which grew to about 20 feet (6 meters) long and about 1.5 tons, possessed a long neck and tail, with a small head. It was bipedal as an adult but newborns were quadrupedal. Mussaurus lived early in the Jurassic, the second of three periods comprising the age of dinosaurs. It was a relatively large beast for its time - much bigger than contemporaneous meat-eating dinosaurs. Dinosaurs became true giants later in the Jurassic.
A nest of the Jurassic Period Patagonian plant-eating dinosaur Mussaurus patagonicus with newborns and a parent is seen in an undated artist's rendition. Jorge Gonzalez/Handout via REUTERS
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By Will Dunham
(Reuters) - A vast trove of fossils unearthed in Argentina's southern Patagonia region is offering the oldest-known evidence that some dinosaurs thrived in a complex and well-organized herd structure, with adults caring for the young and sharing a communal nesting ground.
Scientists said on Thursday the fossils include more than 100 dinosaur eggs and the bones of about 80 juveniles and adults of a Jurassic Period plant-eating species called Mussaurus patagonicus, including 20 remarkably complete skeletons. The animals experienced a mass-death event, probably caused by a drought, and their bodies were subsequently buried by wind-blown dust, the researchers said.
"It is a pretty dramatic scene from 193 million years ago that was frozen in time," said paleontologist Diego Pol of the Egidio Feruglio Paleontological Museum in Trelew, Argentina, who led the research published in the journal Scientific Reports.
Mussaurus, which grew to about 20 feet (6 meters) long and about 1.5 tons, possessed a long neck and tail, with a small head. It was bipedal as an adult but newborns were quadrupedal. Mussaurus lived early in the Jurassic, the second of three periods comprising the age of dinosaurs. It was a relatively large beast for its time - much bigger than contemporaneous meat-eating dinosaurs. Dinosaurs became true giants later in the Jurassic.
A nest of the Jurassic Period Patagonian plant-eating dinosaur Mussaurus patagonicus with newborns and a parent is seen in an undated artist's rendition. Jorge Gonzalez/Handout via REUTERS
More:
https://www.theweathernetwork.com/ca/news/article/patagonian-fossils-show-jurassic-dinosaur-had-the-herd-mentality