Good mother dinosaurs

[cowen@geology.ucdavis.edu]

Tom Holtz reports that
Dave Unwin (U. of
Bristol, UK) at the 1993 SVP.  He showed that, based on embryo-to-egg ratio
found in modern birds and reptiles, the Maiasaura "hatchlings" are actually
the proper size for a late-stage non-hatched embryo.
I don't have Horner's papers in front of me, but I remember that the hatchlings
were reported at one time to have slight wear marks on their teeth. That
would be a minor miracle if they had not hatched yet. I suspect that no
matter what birds do, or reptiles do today, or what Dave Unwin thinks, these
hatchlings were indeed real hatchlings.

Richard Cowen