Dinosaurs seemed to thrive in harsh environments, and the fossils they’ve left behind certainly support this idea.
A group of leading paleontologists has revealed in a new study that some prehistoric megafauna engaged in such aggressive mating behaviors that they actually broke each other’s bones. This finding was published in iScience magazine.
One notable example is the duck-billed dinosaur known as Olorotitan, which stretched about 26 feet long and weighed around three tons. Researchers investigating its skeletal remains found an unexpectedly high number of broken bones and fractures, particularly in the spine above the tail vertebrae, according to the study.
These massive herbivores, noted for their strong jaws and grinding teeth, were prevalent during the Late Cretaceous period—around 66 to 100 million years ago. They also featured striking crests on their heads, which experts suspect were meant to attract mates.
Initially, the hypothesis was that these fractures resulted from battles or accidents while roaming with herds. However, new findings suggest that there was a more intimate cause behind these injuries.
In 2019, paleontologist Filippo Bertozzo from the Brussels Institute of Natural Sciences took notice of unusual scars on bones when he examined dinosaur fossils in Blagoveshchensk, Russia. He expressed his excitement, saying he screamed with joy upon realizing what he was seeing.
Bertozzo had encountered similar fractures in previous studies, particularly finding a broken vertebra near the hips of another hadrosaur. His detailed investigation seemed to confirm a theory that had been circulating among scientists: these injuries were related to intense mating practices among these giant creatures.
Understanding how dinosaurs successfully mated has long been a tricky question. Bertozzo pointed out that no other living animals have tails resembling those of hadrosaurs, which were long, muscular, and held horizontal to the ground.
These dinosaurs had a single cloaca, a multi-purpose opening for digestion, waste expulsion, and reproduction, which could only be seen as a slit beneath their tail base.
Today’s reptiles still share similar anatomical features.
For mating to occur, the dinosaurs needed to align their cloacas correctly and maintain close contact, all while managing to keep their hefty tails steady and horizontal during the act. This pressure and weight, unfortunately, often led to significant injuries for one or both partners.
Over time, their bones healed until the next breeding season rolled around. Experts suggest that these dinosaurs lived roughly 10 to 20 years.
Despite the challenges involved in mating, these ancient giants engaged in elaborate courtship displays to attract potential partners. Evidence indicates that they gathered in certain areas to perform these rituals, leaving marks on the ground reminiscent of a prehistoric dance floor.
While these mating encounters might have lasted just seconds, millions of years later, their fossils continue to reveal the stories of these remarkable creatures.
