Dinosaurs also migrate

New research by US experts shows that long-necked dinosaurs graze on annual migrations to high land to avoid drought.

By analyzing dinosaur fossil teeth, the scientists determined that the sauropods have traveled hundreds of kilometers from their places to find food and water during the droughts. This is the first direct evidence to support the hypothesis that certain dinosaurs have migrated to avoid starvation.

'Long-necked dinosaurs in western North America live in a seasonally dry environment, ie a dry season and a clear rainy season. If you have an animal that needs to eat and drink a lot, it will have to move to find plants and water , 'said geochemist Henry Fricke of the University of Colorado and head of the research team.

A Camarasaurus dinosaur skeleton

Every 5-6 months in the life of a dinosaur, they often lose their teeth and new teeth. New teeth contain ingredients that dinosaurs absorb from food and water, and these ingredients vary by location.

The team focused on yeast-18 isotopes derived from 32 Camarasaurus teeth, a "vegetarian" dinosaur from the late Jurassic about 150 million years ago. These teeth were found in Morrison sedimentary rocks in Wyoming and Utah in the United States.

Experts found that the ratio of xy-18 isotopes in Camarasaurus enamel was lower than the corresponding proportions in soil samples taken from Morrison's rock field. This means that the dinosaurs may have moved to higher lands, which normally have lower levels of oxygen-18 isotopes, during the development of these teeth.

Mr. Fricke and colleagues believe that the Morrison region Camarasaurus has moved more than 600 km from the Morrison area to the highlands in the west and returned to 'original' in the context of a seasonal migration.

Migration to the more humid and cool plateau of dinosaurs has long been questioned by researchers, but there is no strong evidence to support this hypothesis. Therefore, the findings of expert Fricke and colleagues can be seen as the first solid evidence to confirm that dinosaurs also have migratory practices such as birds and some other animals.

Scientists are now looking for evidence to determine whether carnivorous dinosaurs follow the 'vegetarian' species in seasonal migration.

Research results are published in the latest issue of Nature .