Fossil eggs reveal how Troodon dinosaur likely hatched its
young
A small, bird-like North American dinosaur incubated its
eggs in a similar way to brooding birds – bolstering the evolutionary link
between birds and dinosaurs, researchers at the University of Calgary and
Montana State University study have found.
Among the many mysteries paleontologists have tried to
uncover is how dinosaurs hatched their young. Was it in eggs completely buried
in nest materials, like crocodiles? Or was it in eggs in open or non-covered
nests, like brooding birds?
Using egg clutches found in Alberta and Montana, researchers
Darla Zelenitsky at the University of Calgary and David Varricchio at Montana
State University closely examined the shells of fossil eggs from a small
meat-eating dinosaur called Troodon.