Book 5, Question 10
Dino Crowds! Why Did Some Dinosaurs Live in Herds?
Fossil trails with many footprints side by side suggest that some dinosaurs traveled together. Living in a group may have helped animals spot danger and protect their young. Scientists use tracks and bone beds as clues, and they are still learning about dinosaur groups.
From the book
Page from A Million Whys Book 5
More fun facts
- In Argentina, scientists found more than 100 eggs and 80 skeletons of a long-necked plant-eater called Mussaurus.
- These fossils are the oldest evidence of dinosaurs living in herds, about 193 million years ago.
- That is 40 million years earlier than scientists thought herding began.
- Each Mussaurus nest held 8 to 30 eggs, and the nests were close together, like a shared nesting ground.
- The skeletons were grouped by age, so young ones and grown-ups may have moved in separate groups within the herd.
- Some fossil footprints hint that different kinds of dinosaurs may have traveled together, though not every scientist is convinced.
Sources: Smithsonian Magazine, National Geographic, National Geographic
Questions kids ask
How can scientists tell dinosaurs lived in herds?
They find many skeletons and nests of one kind together, or many tracks going the same way.