Dinosaurs also wagged their tails when flirting with their partners

Paleontologists have identified that the dinosaurs of the Oviraptor group can use their peculiar tails to attract mates to a lovemaking. Their work was published in Acta Paleontologica Polonica and summarized in Science Now.

Oviraptor dinosaurs use their tails to flirt with their partners.

This interesting conclusion of scientists is based on the surgery of the tail of an ancient lizard. At oviraptor in later stages scientists discovered that the end of their spine protrudes into the tail. It is just a straight bone, or has a split but cannot bend over. The end of the spine has traces of strong muscles.

No traces were found to show that the oviraptor had used the tail as an opponent's weapon to defend itself like other dinosaurs, but previous studies have demonstrated that their tail is covered. by bright colored feathers. And so their tails cannot be used for anything other than a 'makeup' to seduce their mates into the affair by wagging their tails constantly during the annual breeding season.

If the conclusion of the scientists is confirmed, the oviraptor's tail is an example of the effect of sex selection expressed on the anatomy of ancient lizards.

Previously, another research group pointed out the cause of the creation of large fangs in herbivorous dinosaurs. In addition, it is thought that the choice of sex made the first winged dinosaurs, at first not to fly but to decorate only.