A recent edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences claims that dinosaurs probably experienced a high rate of teen pregnancy.
UC Berkeley (go Bears!) paleontologists Sarah Werning and Andrew H. Lee found medullary bone, a calcium-rich deposit of bone tissue that acts as an internal resource for eggshells and only develops prior to ovulation, in the fossils of three adolescent specimens: an Allosaurus, a Tyrannosaurus, and a Tenontosaurus. These animals died before full maturity, but showed clear signs of pregnancy. Werner and Lee say teen-pregnancy was most likely a survival mechanism. Many dinosaur species had a high adult-mortality rate, so early reproduction was the best way to ensure the future of the species.
Paleontologists also say this growth pattern resembles mammals more than it does reptiles. Resembles Triassic trailer trash to me.
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