New In-depth Studies Provide A Never-Before-Seen Look At Dinosaurs

Thanks to some of the best CT scanners and lasers in the world, paleontologists have found incredible new information about dinosaurs which include the color of their eggs. In the October issue of National Geographic, experts revealed their breathtaking discoveries regarding the prehistoric creatures.

Paleontologists made numerous discoveries such as that the deinonychus species laid eggs that were blue in color; the spinosaurus spent more time in water than previously believed; and the Tyrannosaurus rex released heat through its nostrils.

In an interview with DailyMail.com, Michael Greshko, who is the author of National Geographic’s cover story ‘Reimagining Dinosaurs’, stated, “For a group of animals that died out 66 million years ago, there are more than 10,000 species living today,” adding, “We live along dinosaurs every single – we call them birds,” and “You could argue in sense the age of dinosaurs never really ended.”

Deinonychus

The experts used a state-of-the-art particle accelerator at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in France that can look deep inside of fossils. This equipment provided some very interesting results like the Archaeopteryx was more similar to pheasants than of birds that flap their wings. This was pretty significant as the Archaeopteryx is regarded as the transformation between feathered dinosaurs that didn’t fly and birds of modern times.

Researchers at Yale University used lasers on a fossilized deinonychus egg and found that it contained two chemicals (protoporphyrin and biliverdin) that are found in those of today’s birds which indicate that prehistoric eggs were more than likely blue in color. It has been suggested that deinonychus had open-air nests and that their eggs were blue in order to blend in with the sky.

Another interesting discovery was that the spinosaurus spent a lot more time in water than previously thought. Since the fossils of the spinosaurus were destroyed during a WWII bombing, it was extremely difficult to find any relevant information about the species. However, a new skeleton was located a few years ago in Morocco and experts recreated its paddle-shaped tail which revealed that it was able to propel itself in water would have spent quite a bit of time there.

The Tyrannosaurus rex released heat through its nostrils.

Lawrence Witmer, who is a paleontologist at Ohio University, conducted more tests and found that some dinosaurs released heat from their bodies. Specifically, the Tyrannosaurus rex released excess amounts of heat through its large nostrils.

Several recreation images based on the researchers’ new findings can be seen here.

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