Thursday, March 22, 2007

Burrowing Dinosaur

It seems like an absolute age since there was any dinosaur news.

The discovery of a dinosaur family fossilized in its burrow could make us rethink where the animals lived, how they behaved, and even what wiped them out, say researchers.

The creature has been dubbed
Oryctodromeus cubicularis which translates as "digging runner of the lair". Catchy. It lived some 95 million years ago-

The dinosaur had a broad snout and powerful shoulders well adapted for digging, and sturdy hips that would help it to brace itself as it dug. It could also run on its back legs.

What's interesting is that the ability of the dinosaur to burrow- many of the creatures that did survive the mass extinction 65 million years ago, which ended the rule of the dinosaurs, could burrow. If they were able to survive, why couldn't the burrowing dinosaurs?

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