Dinosaurs, nicknamed "hell chickens," turned out to be great parents.

Dinosaurs are not very similar to loving and caring parents. However, scientists believe that some of them can be considered a true model. For example, oviraptorosaurs are a group of feathered creatures that look like nightmarish chicken dinosaurs. Like poultry, oviraptorosaurs seem to have heated eggs in the nest with the warmth of their body, and also protected them from danger.

"Chicken from Hell"

The sizes of oviraptorosaurs ranged from a chicken and a carcass to one and a half tons, although most of them were rather small or medium. They were feathered, some with a bright color, with powerful beaks and bone crests on their heads. The dinosaurs had powerful long legs that allowed them to move quickly, as well as strong forepaws with long claws that did not look like wings. The feathers may have been long enough to cover nests and eggs.

One species of oviraptorosaurus received the nickname "chicken from hell" because it was first found in a rock formation in South Dakota called Hell Creek (and also because of its appearance). It is not known for certain what they ate. Apparently, everything was anything: some individuals were found with small animals in their stomachs, others with mollusks.

Oviraptorosaurs lived all over the planet and lived longer than almost any other group of dinosaurs, first stepping on the ground about 130 million years ago and lasting until the end of the dinosaur era in the Cretaceous 65 million years ago. Probably they were killed by the same as all the other dinosaurs.

Thieves or family members?

Researchers from France and China found that oviraptorosaurs warmed eggs in their nests with the warmth of their bodies. Paleontologists had previously assumed this, but now accurate calculations have come to their aid. These data also confirmed that at least some dinosaurs were warm-blooded reptiles.

By examining the fossil bones of the embryos, using isotope analysis, scientists were able to understand what temperature was around at the time of bone formation. It turned out that oviraptorosaurs stored their eggs at a temperature of 35-40 degrees Celsius. For comparison, modern hens maintain a temperature of about 37.5 degrees in their nests. Large oviraptorosaurs could not just lay on their eggs without damaging them. They probably buried their eggs in a pile of mud, which provided heat for incubation.

Some oviraptorosaurs have been found stretched on nests with eggs. It used to be that they died trying to plunder the nests of other dinosaurs for food. Even the name "oviraptorosaurus" comes from the word "thief." The results of a new study say that they most likely died protecting their own nests.