Scientists discover more than 250 fossilized dinosaur eggs, suggesting they nested together like birds
A hatchery containing 256 fossilized dinosaur eggs has been discovered in the US. Indiasuggesting that the animals nested together like modern birds.
Researchers in New Delhi have discovered 92 nesting sites that once belonged to titanosaurs, a family of long-necked dinosaurs that included some of the largest to ever exist.
Spanning about 620 miles (1,000 km) from east to west, the dinosaur hatchery is also one of the largest known to man and provides new insight into massive species.
For example, according to experts, the fact that the clutches are in such close proximity suggests that the parents did not hang around to watch their newborns hatch.
Researchers in New Delhi have discovered 92 nesting sites that once belonged to titanosaurs, a family of long-necked dinosaurs that included some of the largest animals ever.
Photographs of eggs and contours of eggs. A: Fully unhatched egg. B: Outline of an egg that is considered unhatched. C: Pressed egg with hatching window indicated by arrow and eggshell fragments indicated by circles. D: Egg. E: a deformed egg whose surfaces slide against each other.
That’s because they wouldn’t have had room to do so, and if they did, paleontologists would notice more fossilized broken eggs.
In addition, there are not many juvenile bone fossils in this region, suggesting that the young left the nest shortly after hatching.
The hatchery is part of the Lamet Formation, a geological formation in the Narmada Valley that contains many fossilized dinosaur eggs and skeletons from the Late Cretaceous.
Researchers have identified eggs that are descended from six different species of titanosaurs, more than so far reported skeletal fossils in the area.
This suggests that the Indian subcontinent was home to a greater diversity of dinosaurs than previously thought.
Harsha Dhiman, lead author of the study, said: “Our study has revealed the existence of an extensive sauropod titanosaur dinosaur hatchery in the study area and offers new insights into the nesting conditions and reproductive strategies of sauropod titanosaur dinosaurs just before they disappeared. extinct.’
The titanosaurs were the last great family of sauropod dinosaurs before going extinct in the Cretaceous and Paleogene period, about 65 million years ago.
Sauropods were a subgroup of dinosaurs characterized by four legs, a long neck and tail, a small head, and a herbivorous diet.
However, the bodies of titanosaurs were stockier and their limbs had a wider position than those of other sauropods.
Titanosaur fossils have been found on every continent except Antarctica and include about 40 species.
The hatchery is part of the Lamet Formation, a geological formation in the Narmada Valley that contains many fossilized dinosaur eggs and skeletons from the Late Cretaceous. In the photo: a map of the study area indicating the location of the studied dinosaur clutches.
Diagram showing what the researchers thought was the hatchery environment. It is believed that some clutches of eggs were laid near the shores of lakes and ponds and often submerged under water. This caused them to be buried in the sediment and prevented them from hatching. Clutches further away from bodies of water may have hatched and therefore had more broken eggshells.
The titanosaurs were the last great family of sauropod dinosaurs before going extinct in the Cretaceous and Paleogene period, about 65 million years ago. Sauropods were a subgroup of dinosaurs characterized by four legs, a long neck and tail, a small head, and a herbivorous diet.
Only a limited amount of information about the reproductive habits of dinosaurs can be gleaned from their remains, as their reproductive organs have not been fossilized.
However, the researchers were able to draw some impressive conclusions about the habits of the hatchery titanosaurs, which were published today in PLOS One.
Some of the eggs that were found tightly packed together were of very similar diameter, suggesting that they were buried with their surfaces touching.
Researchers believe that titanosaurs dug shallow holes for their eggs, just like modern crocodiles do.
They also found the first ever egg-in-egg dinosaur indicating that the creature had a segmented uterus and laid eggs sequentially like modern birds.
An egg in an egg occurs when an egg travels back into the mother’s reproductive system and implants into another nascent egg.
This suggests that the reproductive biology of dinosaurs was more similar to that of birds and crocodiles than to turtles and lizards, as previously suggested.
They also discovered the first ever “egg within an egg” dinosaur (pictured), indicating they had a segmented uterus and laid eggs sequentially like modern birds.
The discovery of all clutches in such close proximity also indicates that titanosaurs formed breeding colonies that came together to nest.
This behavior is “indicated by extensive clutches and morphologically similar eggs”, as well as the stratigraphic position of the Lamet Formation.
The type of rock in which the eggs were found led the researchers to believe that some clutches were laid close to the shores of lakes and ponds.
They were often submerged under water, which led to to the fact that they were buried in sediments that prevented them from hatching.
Clutches farther away from bodies of water may have hatched and therefore contained more fossilized eggshell fragments.
The discovery of all clutches in such close proximity also indicates that titanosaurs formed breeding colonies that came together to nest. In the photo: A round laying of a dinosaur egg
The type of rock in which the eggs were found led the researchers to believe that some clutches were laid close to the shores of lakes and ponds. In the photo: The surviving fragments of a broken egg