The Oldest Dinosaur Nursery Discovered

Paleontologists working in South Africa have made an incredible discovery in the region's Golden Gate Highlands National Park: 10 nests thought to belong to the herbivorous dinosaur Massospondylus, a forbear of massive sauropods like Brachiosaurus. Many of the nests contain eggs. Others are spotted with tiny footprints. But the most incredible thing about this find is how old the nesting site is — at 190 million years old, this nursery predates all previously known nesting sites by 100 million years. 

Robert Reisz and his colleagues conclude that their findings provide the oldest known evidence that newborn dinosaurs hung around their nesting sites long enough after hatching to at least double in size. Why is that important? For one thing, it speaks volumes about the nesting behavior of baby Massospondylids, not to mention the broader social nature of the entire species.

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Reisz, R.R. et al. (2012). Oldest known dinosaurian nesting site and reproductive biology of the Early Jurassic sauropodomorph Massospondylus. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences January 24. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1109385109