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Scientists Are Learning So Much About Dinosaur Nests
Tons of dinosaur fossils have been unearthed over the last hundred years. These long-buried bones tell us about the physical build and eating habits of dinosaurs. But to tell how dinosaurs lived and behaved, you often need more than bones. That’s why the earliest dinosaur nests found to date are giving up secrets about dinosaurs that lived one hundred ninety million years ago.
3 Hundred Pound Dino
Massospondylus, whose name means “l(fā)onger vertebrae,” was a two legged, omnivore that was from thirteen to twenty feet long and weighed three hundred pounds. Its small head was perched on a long neck and its forelimbs were armed with sharp thumb claws.
An archeological site at Golden Gate Highlands National Park in South Africa has been a treasure trove of information for scientists. Ten nests have been unearthed at several levels of the site. Each contains up to thirty four round eggs tightly clustered. Both eggs and dinosaur embryos have been examined.
Nest Building
The site not only gives us physical information, it shines some light on the behavior of these early dinosaurs. It confirms that even early dinosaurs built nests in groups, similar to colonial birds nesting today. Despite their menacing claws, Massospondylus mothers kept highly organized nests, suggesting that they may have arranged the eggs in their nest after laying them.
Nest locations within the strata indicate that the dinosaurs returned to the site year after year. This behavior is known as nesting fidelity. Footprints around the nest are also giving us an idea about young dinosaur behavior. Hatchlings didn’t leave the nest site immediately, but stayed in the area until they were at least double their hatching size.
科學(xué)家深度研究恐龍巢穴
過去的一百年來，大量恐龍化石被發(fā)掘。這些長埋的骨頭告訴我們恐龍的體質(zhì)和飲食習(xí)慣。但為了弄清恐龍的生活習(xí)性，你通常需要更多的骨頭。這就是為什么迄今為止發(fā)現(xiàn)的最早的恐龍巢穴能夠披露生活在一億九千萬年前的恐龍的秘密。
三百磅重的恐龍
大椎龍，顧名思義，就是有更長的椎骨，兩條腿，長13到20英尺，重達(dá)300磅的雜食動物。
它的小腦袋長在長長的脖子上，前肢裝備著鋒利的拇指爪子。南非金門高地國家公園的考古遺址一直是科學(xué)家的信息寶庫。
這里的幾個地方曾出土了10個不同等級的巢穴，每個巢穴中有多達(dá)三、四十枚緊密聚集在一起的圓蛋。蛋和恐龍胚胎都做了檢測。
筑巢
這些遺址不僅給我們提供物體信息，還指引我們弄清早期恐龍的習(xí)性。它證實了即使是早期恐龍也是集體筑巢的，與今天殖民鳥類筑巢相似。盡管有具威脅性的爪子，長椎龍媽媽在筑巢時礽保持著高度的組織性，這可能暗示著她們產(chǎn)蛋后會將其整理好。
筑巢點的地層表明恐龍會年復(fù)一年的返回筑巢地。這種行為被稱為棲息地忠實性。巢穴周圍的腳印也能幫我們了解小恐龍的習(xí)性。幼仔不會立刻離開巢穴，而是一直在該區(qū)待到至少是孵化時兩倍大小才離開。
Scientists Are Learning So Much About Dinosaur Nests
Tons of dinosaur fossils have been unearthed over the last hundred years. These long-buried bones tell us about the physical build and eating habits of dinosaurs. But to tell how dinosaurs lived and behaved, you often need more than bones. That’s why the earliest dinosaur nests found to date are giving up secrets about dinosaurs that lived one hundred ninety million years ago.
3 Hundred Pound Dino
Massospondylus, whose name means “l(fā)onger vertebrae,” was a two legged, omnivore that was from thirteen to twenty feet long and weighed three hundred pounds. Its small head was perched on a long neck and its forelimbs were armed with sharp thumb claws.
An archeological site at Golden Gate Highlands National Park in South Africa has been a treasure trove of information for scientists. Ten nests have been unearthed at several levels of the site. Each contains up to thirty four round eggs tightly clustered. Both eggs and dinosaur embryos have been examined.
Nest Building
The site not only gives us physical information, it shines some light on the behavior of these early dinosaurs. It confirms that even early dinosaurs built nests in groups, similar to colonial birds nesting today. Despite their menacing claws, Massospondylus mothers kept highly organized nests, suggesting that they may have arranged the eggs in their nest after laying them.
Nest locations within the strata indicate that the dinosaurs returned to the site year after year. This behavior is known as nesting fidelity. Footprints around the nest are also giving us an idea about young dinosaur behavior. Hatchlings didn’t leave the nest site immediately, but stayed in the area until they were at least double their hatching size.
科學(xué)家深度研究恐龍巢穴
過去的一百年來，大量恐龍化石被發(fā)掘。這些長埋的骨頭告訴我們恐龍的體質(zhì)和飲食習(xí)慣。但為了弄清恐龍的生活習(xí)性，你通常需要更多的骨頭。這就是為什么迄今為止發(fā)現(xiàn)的最早的恐龍巢穴能夠披露生活在一億九千萬年前的恐龍的秘密。
三百磅重的恐龍
大椎龍，顧名思義，就是有更長的椎骨，兩條腿，長13到20英尺，重達(dá)300磅的雜食動物。
它的小腦袋長在長長的脖子上，前肢裝備著鋒利的拇指爪子。南非金門高地國家公園的考古遺址一直是科學(xué)家的信息寶庫。
這里的幾個地方曾出土了10個不同等級的巢穴，每個巢穴中有多達(dá)三、四十枚緊密聚集在一起的圓蛋。蛋和恐龍胚胎都做了檢測。
筑巢
這些遺址不僅給我們提供物體信息，還指引我們弄清早期恐龍的習(xí)性。它證實了即使是早期恐龍也是集體筑巢的，與今天殖民鳥類筑巢相似。盡管有具威脅性的爪子，長椎龍媽媽在筑巢時礽保持著高度的組織性，這可能暗示著她們產(chǎn)蛋后會將其整理好。
筑巢點的地層表明恐龍會年復(fù)一年的返回筑巢地。這種行為被稱為棲息地忠實性。巢穴周圍的腳印也能幫我們了解小恐龍的習(xí)性。幼仔不會立刻離開巢穴，而是一直在該區(qū)待到至少是孵化時兩倍大小才離開。