Miami: A handful of baby dinosaur fossils complete with fragments of eggshells have been uncovered in Mongolia, researchers said Wednesday.
They are the youngest ever discovered of a type of giant hadrosaur that lived about 70 million years ago, known as Saurolophus angustirostris, which means "lizard crest," said the study in PLOS ONE.
Their discovery adds to knowledge about how dinosaurs developed and grew, from birth to adulthood.
The babies all likely came from the same nest in a site known as the "Dragon's Tomb" in the Gobi Desert, according to lead researcher Leonard Dewaele from Ghent University and the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences.
The saurolophus family is already well known to paleontologists. The herbivores could measure up to 12 meters (40 feet) long and weigh more than two tons. They are distinguished by a crest that projects backward off the top of the skull.
The three or four babies described in the paper did not yet have this cranial crest, and their skulls were not yet fused, suggesting they were in the early stages of development.
Scientists are not sure if they had hatched yet or if they met their demise while still in their shells.
They are the youngest ever discovered of a type of giant hadrosaur that lived about 70 million years ago, known as Saurolophus angustirostris, which means "lizard crest," said the study in PLOS ONE.
Their discovery adds to knowledge about how dinosaurs developed and grew, from birth to adulthood.
The saurolophus family is already well known to paleontologists. The herbivores could measure up to 12 meters (40 feet) long and weigh more than two tons. They are distinguished by a crest that projects backward off the top of the skull.
Advertisement
Scientists are not sure if they had hatched yet or if they met their demise while still in their shells.
Advertisement
COMMENTS
Advertisement
Rare Dinosaur Fossil Fills In Missing Pieces Of Evolution 2 French Rafale Jets Collide Mid-Air, Instructor, Pilot Missing Mob Vandalised Kolkata Doctor Rape Murder Case Crime Scene? Cops Respond Ayatollah Khamenei Warns Of "Divine Wrath" If Iran Backs Down Against Israel In PM Modi's Independence Day Speech, A Call For "24x7 For 2047" Oropouche Virus Kills 2 In Brazil: All About The Rare Disease Punjab Toll Plaza Blunder: Man Charged Rs 220 While Relaxing At Home Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.