Dinosaur parenting secrets revealed in 80-million-year-old fossil teeth

• A new study of fossilised Maiasaura teeth suggests advanced parental care among these duck-billed dinosaurs, which lived 75 to 80 million years ago.
• Researchers found that juvenile Maiasaura had significantly more crushing wear on their teeth, while adults exhibited more shearing wear, indicating different diets.
• The findings suggest adult Maiasaura fed their young softer, higher-protein foods, such as fruit, compared to their own tougher, high-fibre diet.
• This specialised diet likely contributed to the rapid growth of young dinosaurs in their first year and hints at behaviours similar to modern birds, like regurgitation.
• The study indicates that the urge to feed offspring is a very old behaviour, potentially dating back to the origin of dinosaurs.

IN FULL

Study suggests dinosaurs may have fed their young ones a special diet to grow faster