T-rex fossils indicate strong dinosaur link to birds

0 Comments | AFP, June, 2005

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Tissue found inside a nearly 70 million year old Tyrannosaurus rex femur strengthens the theory that today's birds are direct descendants from the dinosaurs, according to a study in the journal Science.

An analysis of tissue found inside the femur suggests a high likelihood that the remains belong to a female T-Rex ready to lay eggs, said Mary Schweitzer, a paleontologist with the University of North Carolina, writing in the June 3 edition of the journal.

The tissue -- the first ever discovered inside a dinosaur fossil -- is very similar to medullar tissue found inside the bones of female ratite birds, such as ostriches and emus, that are about to lay eggs, she said.

This tissue is rich in calcium, providing minerals for the egg shell --...