A cradle of dinosaurs discovered in the Arctic: some fossil remains indicate that they nested in the ice, where the cubs were born and then moved elsewhere once they grew up. This is demonstrated by the study published in the journal Current Biology by paleontologists of the American University of Alaska Fairbanks, coordinated by Pat Druckenmiller, together with colleagues from the State University of Florida, led by Gregory Erickson.
Fossilized remains of the cradle of dinosaurs, belonging to newborn or about to be born cubs, have been found on the banks of the Colville River on the north side of Alaska. Bringing them back to light was a painstaking work of sieve for paleontologists, like that of gold diggers, since the size of the fossils was tiny, often barely larger than a pinhead.
According to the study authors, the findings contradict previous assumptions that dinosaurs migrated to lower latitudes for the winter to spawn in those warmer regions. The research, they add, also reinforces the idea that they were warm-blooded animals.
“Not long ago it would have been a great surprise to discover that dinosaurs also lived in the Arctic 70 million years ago. Now – explains Druckenmiller – we have unequivocal evidence that they were able to nest there too, and that they could reproduce at these high latitudes. Our hypothesis – he concludes – is that endothermia was probably important for their survival “.