Juvenile Skeletal Structure and the Reproductive Habits of Dinosaurs
- 3 May 1996
- journal article
- other
- Published by American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Science
- Vol. 272 (5262) , 712-714
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.272.5262.712
Abstract
Skeletal ontogeny in extant archosaurians (crocodilians and birds) indicates that the morphology of the perinatal pelvic girdle is an indicator of overall developmental maturity [that is, altriciality (nestbound) versus precociality (mobile and relatively independent)]. Comparison of the skeletal anatomy of perinatal extant archosaurians and perinatal dinosaurs suggests that known dinosaur hatchlings were precocial. These data are consistent with the overall similarity in nesting behavior of dinosaurs and modern crocodilians.Keywords
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