microrobert
07-01-2013, 06:35 PM
Paleontologists Observe Psittacosaurus Growth Through Fossil Studies
http://www.redorbit.com/media/uploads/2013/06/The_Childrens_Museum_of_Indianapolis_-_Psittacosaurus_skeleton_cast-617x416.jpg
Skeleton of Psittacosaurus meileyingensis. Credit: The Children's Museum of Indianapolis
Paleontologists from around the globe have shown how the “parrot dinosaur” switched from four feet to two as it grew.
Scientists from several universities wrote in the journal Nature Communications (http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2013/130628/ncomms3079/full/ncomms3079.html) about how a Psittacosaurus (http://www.redorbit.com/topics/psittacosaurus/) would grow. These dinosaurs are one of the best-known dinosaurs, with more than 1,000 specimens found from the Cretaceous (http://www.redorbit.com/topics/cretaceous/) period in China and other parts of East Asia.
The team sectioned two arm and two leg bones from 16 individual dinosaurs, ranging in age from less than one year to 10-years-old, which is when they would have been fully grown.
Discovering How The Psittacosaurus Grew Up - Science News - redOrbit (http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112886715/discovering-psittacosaurus-growth-fossil-study-062813/)
http://www.redorbit.com/media/uploads/2013/06/The_Childrens_Museum_of_Indianapolis_-_Psittacosaurus_skeleton_cast-617x416.jpg
Skeleton of Psittacosaurus meileyingensis. Credit: The Children's Museum of Indianapolis
Paleontologists from around the globe have shown how the “parrot dinosaur” switched from four feet to two as it grew.
Scientists from several universities wrote in the journal Nature Communications (http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2013/130628/ncomms3079/full/ncomms3079.html) about how a Psittacosaurus (http://www.redorbit.com/topics/psittacosaurus/) would grow. These dinosaurs are one of the best-known dinosaurs, with more than 1,000 specimens found from the Cretaceous (http://www.redorbit.com/topics/cretaceous/) period in China and other parts of East Asia.
The team sectioned two arm and two leg bones from 16 individual dinosaurs, ranging in age from less than one year to 10-years-old, which is when they would have been fully grown.
Discovering How The Psittacosaurus Grew Up - Science News - redOrbit (http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112886715/discovering-psittacosaurus-growth-fossil-study-062813/)