Erotic dance of carnivorous dinosaurs

The ground-eating predator dinosaurs 100 million years ago performed a special pairing dance to attract mates.

According to the International Business Times, huge traces of sedimentary rocks in Dakota, USA, date from the Cretaceous (66 - 145 million years ago) very much like the pairing dances in modern birds. More than 60 footprints - some as big as bathtubs - are scattered in areas, where up to 750 square meters. They form two parallel streaks and the most obvious streaks are separated by a raised bed in the middle.

The footprints look similar to the work of an ancient seagull bird that ditches the Atlantic Ocean and ostriches during mating season. Males of these species often drag their feet on the ground (a nesting technique) to show that they are good mates. The place they perform the dance is called the stage.

Beast dinosaurs perform dance to attract mates before mating.(Photo: Xing Lida & Yujiang Han).

Scientists have discovered various forms of attracting different partners in dinosaurs such as crest on the head, horns, and frills. A 2013 study showed dinosaurs shaking tail feathers to attract females.

In a report published yesterday in Scientific Reports, Martin Lockley and colleagues at the University of Colorado, Denver, USA, found many areas of traces of dinosaurs with large trails. The jumping dinosaur hypothesis to find previous mating is based on speculation when compared to the behavior of modern birds.Scuff marks are the first evidence of this behavior.

According to Lockley, males are the main dancers, similar to modern birds, suggesting that this behavior is nearly unchanged for 100 million years. Researchers believe the dinosaur nesting area is near the stage.

In addition, the arena can be used by many different beasts dinosaurs. Some footprints certainly belong to Acrocanthosaurus , a large dinosaur longer than 8m. But scissor tracks are different in size and are more likely to be left by some species.