Grow Fast, Breed Young

A group of scientists from the University of California, Berkeley have discovered that dinosaurs bred as early as age eight, long before they actually became adults in the eyes of their peers. Whilst they were originally descended from reptiles, their breeding patterns are similar to those of modern mammals.

Calcium-rich medullary bone found in the shin bones of fossilised remains of the meat-eating Allosaurus and the plant-eater Tenontosaurus, indicate that these species had the required levels of calcium to produce eggs. Analysis of the leg bones indicates that the age of both samples was between eight and ten years, with most dinosaurs believed to have a life-expectancy near thirty years. This discovery adds further weight to arguments surrounding the reproductive strategy of the dinosaurs. Like modern birds, the environment and the nature of predator-prey relationships indicates that these species needed to maximise the reproductive potential of the individual before the female of the species became prey for another species.

And they say that teenage pregnancy is a problem in the UK... maybe it's just a sophisticated survival strategy!

Blygt.