Recent paleontology research unearths fossils of troodontids, a group of intelligent, bird-like dinosaurs that lived 74 million years ago. Photo/Live Science/PNAS
This beaked dinosaur shared a communal nest with several mates and laid more than 20 eggs together. Then eggs were hatched by these feathered dinosaurs to keep them warm.
From the fossilized egg shells, it was revealed that Troodon were endothermic, meaning they were warm-blooded and could regulate their own body temperature. This confirms that dinosaurs could maintain a body temperature high enough to incubate their eggs.
“Our research shows that Troodon had a high body temperature, like a bird, so he must have been able to provide heat for incubation while incubating his eggs,” Darla Zelenitsky, a paleontologist at the University of Calgary in Canada, told Live Science Tuesday (4/4). /2023).
Scientists say this dinosaur may have been able to switch between a warm-blooded state and a cold-blooded suspended animation state. A common strategy in modern birds, called heterothermy.
Troodon maintains a body temperature of around 107.6 degrees Fahrenheit or 42 degrees Celsius but can drop to 84.2 degrees Fahrenheit or 29 degrees Celsius to cope with limited food or harsh weather.
In the study, published Monday April 3, 2023 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers examined the pattern of eggshell mineralization in eggs belonging to the species Troodon formosus and compared them to modern birds and reptiles. They used a technique that analyzes the calcite content of eggshells and determines the rate and temperature at which they form.
