Finding dinosaurs living in caves

Fossil hunters found traces of tiny dinosaurs nesting in a cave. The discovery shows that once-dominant reptiles of the earth may have chosen a more diverse place than we thought.

The bone and cave fossils of these dinosaurs are found in southwestern Montana, USA, known as Oryctodromeus cubicularis - a combination of Latin and Greek meaning burrowers.

Cave soil is dated in the middle of the Cretaceous period - the warm period stretches from about 135 million to 115 million years ago."This is the first trace and evidence of fossil digging in a dinosaur," the US and Japanese team said.

The cave, long and filled with sediments, consisted of a winding steep tunnel over 2 meters long and about 70 cm wide, similar to the holes that zebra hyenas still produce today.

At the end of the cave is the skeleton of an adult and two young dinosaurs. Adults are about 2.1 meters long, weigh 22 to 32 kg, belong to small dinosaurs.

Researchers say digging may have helped this tiny dinosaur survive in hot weather. Unlike animals, reptiles cannot regulate body temperature. Therefore, in the desert, a cave will be the best shelter to avoid the heat, while in the polar and cold high mountains, the cave will help maintain warmth.

An illustration of the species Oryctodromeus cubicularis , is known to be a species
dinosaurs live in the first cave (Photo: nationalgeographic)

T. An