Friday, July 14, 2006

Sex Can Be Dangerous



T-Rex Sex that is. Like horny teen agers everywhere, T-Rex becomes a juvenile delinquent at puberty.

Tyrannosaur Life Span Similar to Large Mammals, Study Says

The researchers found that mortality rates for Albertosaurus were high in the first two years of life, possibly due to predation, and then decreased until the teenage years, according to the researchers.

After age 13, the mortality rates jumped to 23 percent, researchers found. Dinosaurs lived roughly 30 years, about the same length of time as bears. Some reptiles can live 50 to 100 years or more.

``It was a real mid-life crisis, so to speak,'' Erickson said in a telephone interview today. ``Something happened to these animals at mid-life.''

Combat during mating is a possible reason the mortality rates spiked in the dinosaur's teenage years, Erickson said.

``Love was a dangerous game for tyrannosaurs,'' he said. ``Some animals today will often have combat and that can be lethal.''

Even T. rex struggled with midlife crisis

Study charts dinosaur survival rates

The living was easy for young tyrannosaurs

For Tyrannosaurs, Teen Years Were Murder


Also See:

Dinosaurs

Fossils



Find blog posts, photos, events and more off-site about:
, , , , , , , ,
, , ,, , ,
, , , , , , , , ,

No comments: