'Network Theory' Study Reveals Curious Exodus of Dinosaurs from Europe

Endangered species and extinct animals have always made man curious, especially the dinosaurs. Thanks to new techniques and more advanced technologies, it is possible to keep exploring more and more about animals from past centuries and what they can tell us about the world and its history.

A recent finding talks about the migration of dinosaurs from Europe to other places.

During the Mesozoic era, a curious case of exodus of dinosaurs was observed. Researchers have used network theory to figure out this exodus from Europe to other places.

Fossils have been largely collected from Europe, but other parts of the world have been unexplored thus far. The Journal of Biogeography shows that the dinosaurs have migrated to all parts of the world after the split of the supercontinent Pangaea.

This study was led by Dr. Alex Dunhill who is from the School of Earth and Environment at the University of Leeds.The researchers studied the Paleobiology Database that holds information to every documented dinosaur fossil from different parts of the world. The fossils were studied and cross mapped to understand how they migrated.

From about 252 to 66 million years ago the exodus from Europe also showed that while there was migration from Europe, no dinosaurs migrated into Europe. Alex Dunhill also stated that the temporary bridges that were built during the splitting of the continents helped in movement of dinosaurs to different continents. However, Dunhill also states that this finding might just remain a mystery with no specefic explanation to migration.

Network theory is traditionally employed in computer science to understand and quantify internet data. It is quite similar to studying friend connections on Facebook.

This theory has now been applied to biology and related research, and this is the first study that has resulted in understanding the dinosirurs and their migration.