"Pregnant Fossil May Shed Light on Animal Behavior"

Question

by PBS NewsHour

Scientists have pieced together the first-ever fossil of a pregnant plesiosaur, a giant Mesozoic sea reptile from the Cretaceous Era, with an embryo still inside.

The animal, which roamed the seas 78-million years ago, is about 15-feet long—the length of a minibus—and bones indicate that the baby plesiosaur would have been as long as six feet when born.

The finding, published in the online edition of the journal Science on Thursday, is definitive evidence that the giant sea creature gave birth to single, live offspring, rather than laying eggs, like most reptiles, says paleontologist and lead author F. Robin O’Keefe. This reproductive behavior also indicates that the animals were gregarious social creatures that cared for their young, similar to toothed whales or dolphins, according to the paper.

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Question
Use the passage “Pregnant Plesiosaur Fossil May Shed Light on Ancient Animal’s Behavior” to answer the question.

Write 4–5 sentences in which you explain what you would include and not include in an objective summary of “Pregnant Plesiosaur Fossil May Shed Light on Ancient Animal’s Behavior.” USE THE TEXT FROM THE PASSAGE YOU WRITE YOUR OWN ANSWWER THAT IS HUMAN WRITTEN NOT AI GENERATED

Answer 1

In an objective summary of “Pregnant Plesiosaur Fossil May Shed Light on Ancient Animal’s Behavior,” I would include key details about the discovery of the pregnant plesiosaur fossil, including the animal's size, the age of the fossil, and its significance in understanding reproductive behavior. I would mention that it provides evidence that these creatures gave birth to live offspring instead of laying eggs, a contrast to most reptiles. Additionally, I would highlight the implications of this finding for understanding social behavior among plesiosaurs, suggesting similarities to modern marine mammals. I would not include any speculative opinions or unnecessary details about the broader ecosystem of the Cretaceous Era that do not directly relate to the fossil or its findings.