Oldest dinosaur nests discovered in South Africa

"Scientists uncovered multiple clutches of fossilised eggs at the site in South Africa, many containing embryos. They also found tiny footprints of hatchlings showing that young dinosaurs stayed in the nest long enough to at least double in size. The nests belonged to Massospondylus, a six-metre (20ft) ancestor of long-necked "sauropod" dinosaurs that lived 190m years ago. The newly discovered nesting ground, in Golden Gate Highlands national park, is 100m years older than any found before. At least 10 nests were uncovered at several different rock levels. Each contained up to 34 round eggs in tightly clustered clutches. The distribution of the nests indicated that dinosaurs returned repeatedly to the same spot to lay their eggs. Their highly organised nature suggests the mothers may have arranged their eggs carefully after laying them, according to the research published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences."

  via The Guardian /continue reading