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Stop the pressure ! A prehistorical top executive couple might have just been exposed . Fourteen years ago , paleontologist dug up the remains of two Mongolian dinosaurs who ostensibly died together some 75 million class BCE . This yoke was n’t afford much thought until last hebdomad , when it began attracting global mass medium attention .
Why the sudden interest ? Newresearchclaims that maybe — just maybe — they were more than friends . In fact , they ’ve even been nicknamed “ Romeo ” and “ Juliet . ”
Okay , time to burst out your field of battle guide . The species we ’re deal with is calledKhaan mckennai — which , unhappily , has no connection to everyone ’s favoriteStar Trekbaddie . Khaanhails from a mathematical group of beak , odd - looking dinosaurs known as “ oviraptorid . ” Paleo - fancier adore these critter for their short snouts , toothless jaw , and the flash question crest that many of them sport .
Yet , if you really desire to understand an animal ( extinct or otherwise ) , outward-bound appearances are just a small small-arm of a much bigger equation . Blessedly , fossil cue also hint at oviraptorid deportment . For example , one skeleton from a genus calledCitipatiearned the nickname “ Big Mama ” because the valorous beast seemingly breathed its last breath while draped over a nest of egg . Ergo , oviraptorids are now wide take in as honest parents , guard their clutches until the bitter end .
But — at least inmost cases — before she can lay fertilise eggs , a gallon ’s got ta get pregnant . Recently , much ado has been made about how oviraptorid he-man wooed eligible babes . University of Alberta grad studentScott Personsthinks that , fall pair season , these Casanovas put a unparalleled twist on the musical phrase “ chasing bottom . ”
“ Their tails were not only very , very flexible , but quite muscular , ” henotedin a 2013 presentation . Furthermore , fanning plumage impression are often detect around oviraptorid tail end tips . soul added that , “ in some oviraptors , the last few vertebra were in reality fused together to become one solid , rigid , bladelike structure . ” Dubbed a “ pygostyle , ” you may see this lineament in present tense - daybirds . Function - wise , it ’s designed to support the tail feathers .
So , theoretically , a maleKhaanwould attract bachelorette by raising his tail and smartly shaking its feathering in an unforgettable display . Enter , stage leave , those two Shakespearean specimens .
After taking a good , concentrated feel at theKhaanpair , a University of Alberta group result by Persons notice someslightskeletal difference . “ We detect that , although both … were about the same size , the same years , and otherwise monovular in all anatomical gaze , Romeo had larger and especially shaped tail bones . ” Juliet , on the other hand , “ had shorter , simple tail bones less suitable for ‘ peacocking ’ and was probably female . ”
Did this pair — like the Bard ’s lovers — cash in one’s chips during courting ? The grounds suggests they were covered up pretty quickly when a waterlogged guts sand dune collapsed above them . Hence , if they did n’t perish together , at least they seem to have been buried together . However , figuring out a given dinosaur’ssexis flat - out insufferable under most circumstances . Person ’s argumentation may be persuasive , but bothKhaanstill could ’ve been male or female .
Nevertheless , this study might be on to something . It ’s worth at least imagining our dino - Romeo and dino - Juliet as star - crossed lovers . “ Oh , Khaan , Khaan!Wherefore art one thousand , Khaan ? ”
