Late Cretaceous Dinosaur Nursery Found at the Arctic, Proven Nested at the Polar Region

A group of experts from Florida State University and the University of Alaska Fairbanks recently unearthed dinosaurs of all types in the Arctic region. The dinosaurs vary from small creatures with avian features to the gigantic tyrannosaurus. These ancient creatures were possibly from the late Cretaceous period, and there was strong evidence that they inhabited the polar region for a time.

Cretaceous Maternity Ward of Perinatal Dinosaurs Discovered in Alaska

University of Alaska Museum of the North director and principal author of the study, Pat Druckenmiller said that the initial discovery of the dinosaurs on the Arctic shocked people. Today, they have undebatable evidence that proves the dinosaurs even nested on the polar region 70 million years ago. The study is the first to verify that the ancient creatures have the ability to reproduce in areas in high latitudes.

The study published in the journal Current Biology entitled "Nesting at extreme polar latitudes by non-avian dinosaurs" counters an initial theory about the creatures migrating to lower latitudes to lay eggs while the winter season takes place. Additional findings also suggest that the dinosaurs that have inhabited the polar region were warm-blooded.

Along with Druckenmiller, a biological science professor at the Florida State University, Gregory Erickson have conducted research in northern Alaska, specifically on the Prince Creek Formation, for more than a decade. Together the experts have uncovered a number of species of dinosaurs just above the Colville River. Most of these species discovered were even new to science.

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Dinosaurs Lived in Northern Hemisphere Possibly Warm-Blooded

Among the newly recovered materials were bones and a massive amount of tiny teeth. These ancient fragments were from perinatal dinosaurs. Perinatal dinosaurs are groups of baby dinosaurs that are either going to or recently hatched. Still, it was a big question whether the dinosaurs in the Artic have seasonally migrated on the northern hemisphere, or inhabited for a longer amount of time.

The perinates from almost every type of dinosaurs that were discovered also show that the polar region possibly served as a maternity ward or a nursery for the ancient creatures, reports Science Daily.

The recovery of the tiny bones and teeth was challenging for the researchers, as the sizes of the fragments were not exceeding the head of a pin. After carefully filtering the bones from unwanted sediments, the pieces were screened further. The laboratory studies seemed pretty much like a panning process for gold. It took several scientists to examine the tiny parts little by little under the microscope, in a span of hundreds of hours.

After long laboratory experiments, the scientists came to the conclusion that the dinosaurs actually lived in the Arctic region their entire lives. Among the findings were the incubation of the baby dinosaurs extends from three to six months. The nursery is even active during the spring season when dinosaurs lay their eggs as well.

The Cretaceous period's temperature was significantly warmer compared to today, but the four months of darkness in the northern regions were still experienced during the time. It caused freezing cold, snowy climate, and scarcity of fresh leafy greens for food, reports NPR.

But their resilience exhibited in the Cretaceous shows that the dinosaurs passed the ultimate physiology test provided by the nature. The study on the Arctic nursery also contributes to a wider question among the experts if whether the dinosaurs were warm-blooded or not.