Ornithischian dinosaurs lived in packs as early as the Lower Jurassic. About informs N+1 version.
Lesothosaurus diagnosisor Lesothosaurs lived in South Africa and Lesotho at the beginning of the Jurassic period (180-200 million years ago). They were omnivores, had small bodies, and are considered one of the earliest ornithischian dinosaurs.
Jennifer Botha of the Free State University (South Africa) and her colleagues studied the fossilized remains of these dinosaurs and analyzed their behavior. In total, the group examined 27 limb bones from several individuals. As a result, they were able to reconstruct the maturation stages of this species by analyzing different sizes of humerus, femur, tibia, and fibula.
Understood that Lesothosaurus grew rapidly during early and middle ontogenesis, and at two to four years of age the growth rate decreased, that is, some reached sexual maturity. At the same time, none of the skeletons of the individuals studied were fully mature, meaning Lesothosaurus took more than six years to grow. Also, paleontologists have suggested that Lesothosaurs lived in herds, given that 17 individuals of different ages were buried together. This is the earliest evidence of herd formation in ornithischian dinosaurs.
Most likely, spontaneous burial arose due to mass death. After a short time, the bones were submerged under the surface by the mud flow and remained on the surface for a short time.
ancient biologists solvethat an extinct crocodile weighing a kilogram loved land more than water.