Fossil Record Reveals Dinosaurs Had Meetings That Could Have Been Emails

A newly analyzed trace fossil site in the Morrison Formation has yielded what paleontologists are interpreting as evidence that dinosaurs engaged in large, purposeless group assemblies — behavior researchers have tentatively classified as 'proto-meetings.' The site, located in eastern Utah, contains an unusually dense concentration of sauropod trackways that converge on a single clearing, mill about in apparently aimless patterns for an extended period, and then disperse along the same routes they arrived on. 'The trackway analysis is striking,' said Dr. Helen Coprolite of the University of Utah. 'You can see approximately forty Diplodocus-sized animals arriving from different directions, congregating in a roughly circular formation, shuffling in place for what we estimate was two to three hours, and then leaving. There is no evidence of feeding, nesting, or predator response. They appear to have gathered specifically to stand around.' The discovery challenges previous assumptions that dinosaur group behavior was primarily driven by migration, mating, or defense. 'This looks like none of those things,' Dr. Coprolite said. 'This looks like they all showed up somewhere, stood in a circle, and went home. The Jurassic equivalent of a status update meeting.' Supporting evidence includes several trackways that arrive, pause at the periphery of the group, and immediately turn around — behavior the research team has labeled 'the Late Jurassic Irish exit.' One trackway shows a single individual that appears to have paced back and forth at the front of the assembly for the duration of the gathering, which the paper describes as 'potentially consistent with a leadership or presentation role, though we acknowledge this interpretation is speculative and somewhat depressing.'