Distinctive crests figure into sex lives of flying dinosaurs

U.K. researchers have unearthed ancient dinosaur fossils, which could explain the active sex lives of the pterosaur.

Scientists from the University of Portsmouth studied a 65-million-year-old skull of a juvenile Tupuxuara, a type of pterosaur found in Northeast Brazil.

Researchers noticed that the juvenile skull had two crests - one on the back, and one on the front - rather than a single triangular crest that spanned the entire skull, a trait featured in adult Tupuxuaras.

The scientists claim these crests on young Tupuxuara would eventually join at the top of the skull when the pterosaur reached puberty.

This suggests that the pterosaur's headgear grew according to sexual maturity.

Researchers concluded that the pterosaur's sex life was "incredibly visual" with its crest acting like a peacock's tail to attract mates.

Pterosaurs lived during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods and were the first actively flying vertebrates of the time, the scientists say.

The scientists' study was published in journal Palaeontology.

Illustration: Paleo Direct

Source: Discovery Channel Reports, July 28 edition