Titanosaur Fossils in Spain Reveal 240-Hour Exposure Before Burial
Updated
Updated · Daily Kos · Jun 26
Titanosaur Fossils in Spain Reveal 240-Hour Exposure Before Burial
3 articles · Updated · Daily Kos · Jun 26
Summary
Perforated titanosaur bones from Cuenca, Spain, show the carcasses lay exposed for at least 240 hours before burial, overturning assumptions that they were rapidly covered after death.
The reanalysis traced the holes to insect bioerosion, likely from beetle-like scavengers that bored into the bones while the remains sat on the Late Cretaceous landscape.
Experiments with modern Dermestes frischii larvae produced similar borings, giving researchers a benchmark for how long such traces can take to form under controlled conditions.
Researchers said the borings offer a new way to reconstruct how dinosaur remains accumulated and to infer local scavenger activity and environmental conditions on the Iberian Peninsula.