{"id":3172,"date":"2021-11-05T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-05T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/?p=3172"},"modified":"2021-10-22T03:17:26","modified_gmt":"2021-10-22T03:17:26","slug":"evidence-of-complex-dinosaur-herding-found-in-mussaurus-graveyard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/evidence-of-complex-dinosaur-herding-found-in-mussaurus-graveyard\/","title":{"rendered":"Evidence of “Complex” Dinosaur Herding Found In Mussaurus “Graveyard”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The South American region of Patagonia, straddled between Argentina and Chile, has always been famous in the world of paleontology, having been host to some of the world\u2019s most spectacular dinosaur finds. One example of such finding\u2014several, really\u2014is the Huincul Formation<\/em>, a location in northern Patagonia famous for several landmark dinosaur finds, including the colossal 40-m (130-ft) long Argentinosaurus<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Several dinosaurs found in the Huincul Formation are displayed to scale with a human in the middle. This includes the giant Argentinosaurus<\/em> huinculensis<\/em> and the theropod dinosaur Mapusaurus roseae<\/em>. (Slate Weasel\/Wikimedia Commons, 2019) <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

As such, the area is no stranger to brilliant finds that shake up what we know about the reptiles which ruled the planet for hundreds of millions of years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A particularly recent find, however, got the attention of scientists around the world: a so-called \u201cJurassic graveyard\u201d was found in Laguna Colorada Formation in Patagonia. Determined to contain about 100 fossilized eggs and some 80 fossilized individuals of the sauropodomorph <\/em>dinosaur Mussaurus patagonicus<\/em>\u2014including some 20 complete skeletons\u2014the site proves to be the oldest-discovered evidence of dinosaur herding. A study written about the findings was published in the journal Scientific Reports<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This artist\u2019s rendition of Mussaurus patagonicus<\/em> located at the \u201cgraveyard\u201d site was illustrated by Jorge Gonzalez, which showcases the dinosaur\u2019s herding behavior\u2014the oldest ever found for a dinosaur. (Gonzalez, 2021) <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

“It is a pretty dramatic scene from 193 million years ago that was frozen in time,” said research lead and Egidio Feruglio Paleontological Museum paleontologist Diego Pol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

M. patagonicus<\/em> was actually named as such because its first remains were found in the area back in 1979. The specimens at the time were juveniles, hence their name being Latin for \u201cmouse lizard.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pol and team worked on a small outcrop, just about a square kilometer (0.3 sq. mi) in size, at the Laguna Colorada Formation; they\u2019ve actually been working on the site since 2002, and had since found several specimens of M. patagonicus<\/em>, including other eggs and fully-grown individuals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Another artist\u2019s rendition of the ancient hatch sit, from Jorge Gonzalez, showed just how tight-knit Mussaurus<\/em> communities were back when they were still alive. (Gonzalez, 2021) <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

M. patagonicus<\/em> actually lived as far back as 192.8 million years ago, during the Early Jurassic period. Adults could reach up to 6 m (20 ft) in length, and up to 1,000 kg (2,200 lbs) in weight. From the years of M. patagonicus<\/em> findings since its first discovery, scientists have pieced together several key facts about its life, including the fact that babies usually walk on all four legs, while adults primarily walk on the back two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prior to this 2021 find, however, there was not enough evidence to suggest that these dinosaurs lived together as a herd. These new findings, which basically confirm their herding behavior suspicions, push back the earliest-known evidence of dinosaur herding by some 40 million years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pol and team believed that M. patagonicus<\/em> needed the herding, too; sauropodomorphs\u2014and eventually the sauropods <\/em>that would come much later on in the geologic timeline, like Australia\u2019s very own Australotitan cooperensis<\/em><\/a>\u2014grew to pretty big sizes, yet laid small eggs. As a result, these long-necked dinosaur babies had to grow up fast in order to protect themselves. Thus, to Pol and the team, herding was essential to protect the M. patagonicus<\/em> young.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Pol told news outlet LiveScience<\/em>: “This is a time when they need to eat quite a lot to grow, but they don’t have the size to be able to defend themselves, and they don’t have the expertise and the knowledge. […] Living in a herd actually protects you during those very vulnerable, fragile stages of your life.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The research team also found the dinosaurs to have been surrounded by fellow dinosaurs of roughly the same age, leading them to believe that they primarily interacted with individuals of the herd from the same age range. This was said to be evidence of age segregation<\/em>, implying a complex social structure within the early Jurassic herd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Evidence locked in the ancient sediment led Pol and team to believe that these dinosaurs may have died due to a drought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a statement to news outlet Reuters<\/em>, Pol mentioned that “the site is one of a kind,” and that \u201c[it] showed that herd behavior was present in long-necked dinosaurs since their early history.\u201d \u201cThese were social animals, and we think this may be an important factor to explain their success.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Said Adelphi University Department of Biology associate professor Michael D\u2019Emic, who was not involved with the study: “I would say this is one of the top paleontological discoveries of the year. […] It is so exciting to have so many individuals of one fossil species, from embryos to adults.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

References<\/h2>\n\n\n\n