Shuvuuia deserti, a nocturnal dinosaur
Context: Scientists on an examination of a ring of bones surrounding the pupil and a bony tube inside the skull that houses the hearing organ showed that this dinosaur, called Shuvuuia deserti, boasted visual and auditory capabilities akin to a barn owl, indicating it could it hunt in total darkness.
More about news:
- Their study, showed that predatory dinosaurs overall generally possessed better-than-average hearing — helpful for hunters — but had vision optimized for daytime.
- In contrast, Shuvuuia loved the nightlife.
- Shuvuuia was a pheasant-sized, two-legged Cretaceous Period dinosaur weighing about as much as a small house cat.
- Lacking the strong jaws and sharp teeth of many carnivorous dinosaurs, it had a remarkably bird-like and lightly built skull and many tiny teeth like grains of rice.
- The fossilized skeleton of the small bird-like dinosaur Shuvuuia deserti is seen in this undated handout image.
- Its mid-length neck and small head, coupled with very long legs, made it resemble an awkward chicken.
- Unlike birds, it had short but powerful arms ending in a single large claw, good for digging.
- Shuvuuia might have run across the desert floor under cover of night, using its incredible hearing and night vision to track small prey such as nocturnal mammals, lizards and insects.
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