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Nov. 1 (UPI) – A new study suggests that the color spectrum observed on modern bird eggs has probably evolved from dinosaurs.
According to a new study published Wednesday in the journal Nature, dinosaurs other than birds have laid eggs in open or partially open nests. Modern bird eggs, even those that are spotted or speckled, rely primarily on two color pigments: red and blue.
Research suggests that with the open nesting practices of dinosaurs, white eggs were more likely to be predator victims. Eggs that are so colorful could blend better in the nest, giving them a better chance of survival.
"This completely changes our understanding of the evolution of egg color," said Jasmina Wiemann, Yale paleontologist and lead author of the study. "For two centuries, ornithologists have assumed that the color of the egg appeared independently in the eggs of modern birds."
Using a non-destructive laser microspectroscopy, Wiemann and a team of researchers inspected 18 fossilized dinosaur egg shells to detect the presence of two shell pigments in order to determine the presence of the skin. state of the story of colored eggs.
"Colorful eggs are considered a unique bird for over a century. Like feathers and triangles, we now know that egg color has evolved in their dinosaur predecessors well before the appearance of birds, "said Mark Norell, paleontology curator at Macaulay at Co-author of the study. .
Although the team found no pigment in two ancestors of the modern bird, the triceratops and the long-necked diplodocus, it did, however, add pigments to the Eumaniraptoran dinosaur egg shells, NPR News reported. They were members of the small meat-eating group that included velociraptor, made famous in the Jurassic Park movies.
"We infer that egg color has co-evolved with open nesting habits among dinosaurs," said Wiemann. "Once the dinosaurs began to build open nests, the exposure of eggs to visual hunter predators and even to nesting pests favored the evolution of camouflaging egg colors and hides. patterns of spots and flecks individually recognizable.
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