When a dog-sized Psittacosaurus was living out its days on Earth, it was probably concerned with mating, eating, and not being killed by other dinosaurs. It would never even have crossed its mind that, 120 million or so years later, scientists woul
Paleontologists finally have their first good look at a dinosaur s butt
For the first time ever, scientists take a closer look at the dinosaur s cloaca that was used to expel waste and, potentially, attract a mate. Listen - 01:59
Here s a digital reconstruction of a Psittacosaurus dinosaur illustrating how the cloacal vent may have been used for signaling during courtship. Bob Nicholls/Paleocreations.com 2020
Paleontologists spend their entire academic careers studying the anatomy of dinosaurs. Now a team of scientists from the University of Bristol has finally described in detail a dinosaur s cloacal or vent, which is used for everything from defecation and urination to attracting a mate to breed with (or, less scientifically, a jack-of-all-trades butthole).