Dino gangs
Art by Todd Marshall, courtesy of Project Exploration
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Monday, 16, Mar 2009 05:01
Keeping an eye on adolescents is nothing new, as the discovery of a gang of out-of-control dinosaur youths shows.
The remains of a herd of young birdlike dinosaurs who died together around 90 million years ago has been excavated by American archaeologists.
Located at a remote site in Inner Mongolia's Gobi desert, the dinosaurs' final resting place reveals secrets about both their life and death.
"These youngsters were roaming around on their own," Tan Lin, from the department of land and resources of Inner Mongolia, said.
It appears immature individuals were left to fend for themselves when adults were preoccupied with nesting or brooding.
The herd died when they became trapped on the muddy margins of a lake. They were all facing the same way, suggesting they died together quickly. Their hind legs were stuck deeply in the mud. And plunging marks in the mud bore testament to their failed efforts to escape.
One archaeologist, David Varricchio of Montana State University, said he felt an unusual emotional link to the dinosaurs.
"I was saddened because I knew how the animals had perished," he explained.
"It was a strange sensation and the only time I had felt that way at a dig."