Question

There was a nearly intact fossil of a hadrosaur called Dakota. How did this find change our knowledge of the hadrosaur? List three specific ways.​

Answer 1

Answer: Environment, skin coating, and perhaps seasonal migration.

Explanation: The hadrosaur has become an unmistakable species due to its unusual bill, and bipedal legs. However this new fossil could change many studies. First off, environmental hazards. Due to the amount of carnivorous fossils found in the Dakota area, finding a nearly intact fossil of any sort should be quite impossible. This brings paleontologists to believe hadrosaurs may have had some sort of defense against predators, which brings us to skin coating. To be found in such an arctic area must have meant it would be difficult for anything herbivorous to live in the area, unless feathers, or fur was involved. This could change every theory about the so called scaly beasts we refer to as dinosaurs. This brings us to our final topic, migration. Every winter if you were to go outside, it would be highly unlikely to hear birds. This is known as migration, a period when certain animals of multiple species, typically birds, move to warmer areas for the winter. Consider if the birds descending from dinosaurs theory was correct. This could in fact be how birds somehow get this preconceived notion to migrate. This, just as wild dogs are naturally aggressive, could be instinct.