But yet, It is not clear whether all dinosaurs share this growth pattern. What t. Was the Rex-style period the only way of extreme growth that dinosaurs became full adults?
A study of 11 different dinosaur fossilized bone samples released on Tuesday found that while some were transformed during adolescent development, some became slow and stagnant.
Like tree trunks, dinosaur bones have rings that show how the creatures got older and older.
“The period comes when most animals grow each year, traditionally indicated at times like winter when food shortages are low. It looks like a line in the bones like a tree ring,” said Tom Cullen, a scientist involved. Of Lead author of the new study at the Field Museum of Chicago and Proceedings the Royal Society B.
“By analyzing these growth lines and examining the bones for new regions of growth, scientists can estimate the age of the animal and how much it grows each year. There are also indications of bone formation,” he said in a news statement. .
Researchers have found that the way dinosaurs grow depends on their family. T. Rex and his relatives, Coelurosaurus, showed a period of rapid growth during adolescence, and then growth rates Peter will Once out they reached adulthood.
However, research suggests that t. Rex’s farther cousins may reach the same size, but have grown more slowly.
The team took bone samples from Argentina of the newly identified species Carcaradontosaurus. He did not reach his adult size until his 30s and 40s and lived to be 50 years or older. Despite his old age, he stopped growing just two or three years before becoming part of the fossil record.
For the study, the most famous resident of the Cullen Field Museum was the dinosaur, Su de T. Rex. She was about 33 years old and the most complete and best protected t in the world. There are racks.
Cullen used a diamond-tipped coring drill to cut a bone cylinder around the size of a battery from Sule’s thigh bone – a procedure he described as “nerve-racking.”
He then cut out bone samples so that light could pass through them. This will allow him to observe specimens under a microscope and analyze lines showing where new bones have grown over the years. The missing part of the gold leg was covered with brown putty.
Mammals, including humans, continue to grow when they are young and then remain the same size when they reach maturity. In other animal groups, that is not always the case.
“Birds have super growth and they reach adult size very quickly, while crocodiles and various reptiles like lizards and snakes have grown. With them, a really, really big person is probably really old.”
Rapid expansion in size can be an advantage, the chairman said – it makes it easier for you to hunt other animals, and hunters make it harder for you to hunt.
In contrast, increasing growth takes a lot of energy and resources, and it’s easy to grow a little bigger each year over your lifetime.
“The amount of calories T. Rex “It would be ridiculous to need it during its growth,” Cullen said.
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