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Articles / Sc. & Envt. / Science / Dinosaurs Had Maternal Instincts like Birds
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Dinosaurs Had Maternal Instincts like Birds
 Washington, Jan 23.- Dinosaurs of the species Massospondylus, who lived in our planet 190 million of years ago, had maternal instincts like the birds and reptiles, according to Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS).
Researchers of the Canadian University of Toronto discovered nests with eggs of those prehistoric animals in the Golden Gate Highlands National Park, in South Africa.
Another important discovery is that the Massospondylus laid their eggs in the same place generation after generation, so this can be not only the site of the world's oldest dinosaur net center, but also of land vertebrates.
The idea was put forward by Robert Reisz, main author of the study, at the Royal Museum of Ontario.
The scientists also found that these animals stayed in the net until they doubled their size and were quadrupeds while young, but walked on their back legs in their adulthood.
Though the eggs were laid in one layer, the mothers did not brood the eggs, which suggests that laying the eggs in the nest and siting on them were behaviours than evolved separately.
According to experts, because of the great number of eggs present, the site can still provide valuable data about the reproductive behavior of the dinosaurs. (Prensa Latina).
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