By examining fossilized bone tissue, a new study finds rapid growth was an asset for survivors of the Great Dying 250 million years ago, Earth’s largest mass extinction event.
A herd of the duckbill Minqaria bata wander along the shore of what is now Morocco.
Raul Martin
If you love learning about dinosaurs don’t let crowdpleasers like the T Rex distract you from the fascinating birdlife that once roamed the Earth.
A replica fossil of the titanosaur Patagotitan, one of the largest dinosaurs ever discovered. It would have weighed about 70 tons (63.5 metric tons.)
Spencer Platt/Getty Images News via Getty Images
Some of these giant vegetarians were as tall as a 3-story building. Microscopic analysis of their teeth, bones and eggshells reveals how they grew, what they ate and even their body temperature.
Rather than a juvenile of a known species, several fossilized bones represent a new species – and shed light on the question of whether dinosaurs were already in decline before disaster struck.