Dinosaurs: The Original 'Lovebirds,' Study Reveals

Researchers found that dinosaurs may have been the original love birds, according to a study at the University of Colorado-Denver. The researchers found fossil evidence in rock from 100 million years ago, which indicates that dinosaur engaged in mating behaviors similar to birds.

Martin Lockley, who is professor of geology at the University of Colorado Denver and a paleontologist, led an international team of researchers, where they discovered large "scrapes" in the prehistoric Dakota sandstone of western Colorado. The ancient scrapes were quite similar to "nest scrape display" or "scrape ceremonies" which is a common behavior among modern birds, where male birds display their ability to provide by excavating pseudo nests for potential mates.

"These are the first sites with evidence of dinosaur mating display rituals ever discovered, and the first physical evidence of courtship behavior," Lockley said. "These huge scrape displays fill in a missing gap in our understanding of dinosaur behavior."

The researchers found evidence for over 50 dinosaur scrapes, where some of them were the size of a bathtub, in an area where tracks of carnivorous and herbivorous dinosaurs have been confirmed. The new evidence supports the theories about the dinosaur mating displays and the evolutionary driver called sexual selection. This sexual selection is a common practice among birds and mammals. Scientists have always speculated that that dinosaurs shared similar mating behaviors, however, the new evidence confirmed their speculated theories.    

"The scrape evidence has significant implications. This is physical evidence of pre-historic foreplay that is very similar to birds today. Modern birds using scrape ceremony courtship usually do so near their final nesting sites, said Lockley. "So the fossil scrape evidence offers a tantalizing clue that dinosaurs in 'heat' may have gathered here millions of years ago to breed and then nest nearby."

The findings of this study were published in the journal Scientific Reports.

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