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– This is a first for paleontology, and one that can produce a giggle. For the first time, scientists have described the cloaca of dinosaurs in detail. If you’re not familiar with that body part, CNET translates: it’s essentially “jack-of-all-trades butol.” Study published on Tuesday Current biology A dog-shaped herb concern that lived about 120 million years ago was called Psittacosaurus. Scientists at the University of Bristol wrote that “it was previously noted that the cloacal region was preserved”. Although this fossil was flattened, found decades earlier in China, the detailed anatomy of the region was not properly reconstructed. Was. This is what they managed, through a 3D model of the opening of the hole that was used for defecation, urination, sex and birth.
new York Times Notes “cloaca” comes from the Latin word “sewer” and is not unique at all to dinosaurs: one of the few modern birds, reptiles, amphibians, and a handful of mammals, but to the researchers’ knowledge, The cloak isn’t preserved in any other non-avian dinosaur fossil. So how does it measure people we are familiar with? It is definitely in a class of its own, but is seen mostly in crocodiles and crocodiles. While most cloacals appear as openings, or vents, slits, or holes, of which Psittacosaurus “There are discrete lateral lips, but they only converge anteriorly, giving the study a unique V-shape anatomy according to the study.” Those lips were heavily pigmented, indicating that they may have a signaling function, perhaps a sexual one; It is possible that they also held musk glands. (Read more stories of discoveries.)
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