I have been learning about dinosaurs this year (part of a uni paper) and a strange thought struck me while watching a doco last week.

Firstly some terminology:

Precocial young: able to run around and feed themselves (eg ducklings)

Altricial young: very underdeveloped, blind etc (blackbird babies etc)

They have fossils of dinosaur nests with eggshells and babies too big to fit inside the nest, strongly suggesting that the parent feed the nestlings, like birds (who are actually dinosaurs).

ONLY altricial juveniles recieve this sort of parental support. Precocial ones might be kept warm by the parents, but they run around all over the show and tend to leave the nest after hatching.

WTF does an altricial reptile look like?! - We are talking weak, blind, virtually foetal, like a baby bird!!

Are there any surviving reptiles with altricial young?

Got my own words mixed up, yes the title should say 'altricial'.... :oops:

They have fossils of dinosaur nests with eggshells and babies too big to fit inside the nest, strongly suggesting that the parent feed the nestlings, like birds (who are actually dinosaurs).

Could this also maybe be interpreted that if the babies were too big for the nest that they just buggered off and found their own food?

Off the top of my head I can't think of a reptile that feeds its young, but some crocodilians are known for their maternal care in regards to protecting their babies from predators, etc. I learned that one fast while working with crocs in Botswana a few years back.

aw man, I am too busy today and trying to do too many things too quickly!!!

I mean babies too big for the EGGSHELLS. They had grown since and simply wouldn't fit back in. :oops: :oops:

Ah, that makes more sense Cool stuff.

Off the top of my head I can't think of a reptile that feeds its young, but some crocodilians are known for their maternal care in regards to protecting their babies from predators, etc. I learned that one fast while working with crocs in Botswana a few years back.

bit of an odd thing really?even a domestic chicken would not `fit back into its egg` after it un rolls and stands up?turtles and tortoises that i have seen hatch also come out semi pliable and change shape after hatching?All this archeollogy(sp) stuff is 90% speculation anyway isn`t it?

It always amazes me how a turtle can fit all those eggs into its shell let alone a baby getting back into a shell.

verey interesting

bit of an odd thing really?even a domestic chicken would not `fit back into its egg` after it un rolls and stands up?turtles and tortoises that i have seen hatch also come out semi pliable and change shape after hatching?All this archeollogy(sp) stuff is 90% speculation anyway isn`t it?

I have seen multiple stimpsons pythons shoot back into eggs after being fully out of egg, when taken out of incubator.quite funny to see