A North Carolina State University team of Scientists led by Mary H. Schweitzer has been studying the fossilized bones of a Tyrannosaurus rex, which was found in Montana.

The team has found evidence that the T-Rex was not only a female, but an ancestor of birds as well. Medullary bone was found inside the leg bones of the creature. This is a layer of bone that forms in birds as they lay eggs. It aids the development of eggshells by supplying calcium.

“The discovery of medullary bone in a specimen of T. rex is hugely exciting,” said Chris Dacke of the University of Portsmouth in England. “It has never previously been reported in any other class of animal than birds.” Sun-Sentinel explains:

Because the dinosaur tissues didn’t look exactly like the pictures published of medullary bone in living birds such as chicken and quail, Schweitzer’s team compared the tissue from the femur of the T. rex with tissues from leg bones of primitive flightless birds, such as the ostrich and emu.

Schweitzer viewed the tissues with both light and electron microscopes and found the dinosaur tissues were virtually identical to those of the modern birds in form, location and distribution.

“We think this adds to the robust support linking birds and dinosaurs and shows their reproductive physiologies may have been similar,” said Schweitzer.

The discovery of medullary bone is largely helpful to scientists for determining what gender a dinosaur was. They just didn’t have much to go on from fossilized bones, previously. Now they should be able to determine the gender of more specimens.

“The real strength of the discovery will come with more samples. If you have one animal, it’s suggestive, but not definitive. You get two or three animals that show this type of bone, and you’re on your way to showing gender.”

Chris is a staff writer for Murdok. Visit Murdok for the latest ebusiness news.