Dino Dads

Analysis of adult dinosaur bones found near nests of dinosaur eggs suggests that the male dinosaur parent was caring for the eggs.

Paleontologists from Montana State University examined the adult dinosaur bones found by these nests and discovered that they lacked a distinctive layer called medullar bone, a bone type that characterizes many species of female birds and that has been found in other dinosaurs, including Tyrannosaurus and Allosaurus.

If dino dads were in fact caring for their young, this could explain the origin of male parental care that we see in the descendents of these dinosaurs—birds. The large number of eggs found in these dinosaur nests--up to 30—also compares with the clutch size of modern birds in which the dads care for the young.

A reminder that Father's Day is coming up soon!

Summary in sciencenews.org Jan. 17, 2005 (Laura Sanders). Illustration of dino dad from here. Original research article: David J. Varricchio, et al., 2008. Avian paternal care had dinosaur origin. Science 322:1826-1828.