Did Dinosaurs Drink Milk?

New research published in The Journal of Experimental Biology suggests that dinosaurs may have nourished their young with "milk" like secretions from their upper digestive tract, Phys Org reports.

"Pigeons, emperor penguins and flamingos all produce 'milk-like' substances from crop glands or glands of the oesophagus that they feed to their young through their mouths," said Professor Paul Else of the University of Wollongong in Wollongong, Australia. "Since birds and dinosaurs share much in common, I proposed that some dinosaurs likely used this strategy."

Dinosaurs feeding their young "milk" could help explain how the reptiles were able to grow so quickly from small infants of only a few pounds to giant behemoths weighing multiple tons. Else explained that "dinosaur milk" could have been "spiked" with antioxidants, growth hormone and antibodies.

"Theses are all examples of additives found in the milk of pigeons that allow their young to grow at phenomenal rates," said Else. The professor, whose work normally focuses on membrane lipids, suggests that we should look to herbivorous, duckbilled dinosaurs for evidence of dinosaur lactation.

"Hadrosaurs were herd, site breeders with nest bound young fed by parents. The proposal is that rather than regurgitating partially fermented plant matter these dinosaur parents initially used lactation then progressed to plant regurgitation."