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Fossilized Titanosaur Eggs Reveal New Clues About How Giant Dinosaurs Nested
About 200 eggshell fragments show titanosaurs nested far south of their previously known range, with buried vegetation likely helping warm eggs in a cool climate.
- On Tuesday, researchers announced the discovery of 255 titanosaur eggshell fragments in Argentina's Chorrillo Formation, dating back 68 million years and representing the highest-latitude nesting environment known for sauropods.
- Titanosaurs likely avoided sitting on eggs, which would have crushed them, instead utilizing mounds of soil and rotting vegetation to provide essential incubation heat in cool environments.
- While adults weighed up to 75,000 kilograms, their eggs held only about 4 liters of liquid; the nest site, located 200 miles north of the Strait of Magellan, experienced an average annual temperature of about 12 C.
- University of Calgary paleontologist Darla Zelenitsky noted the porous shells required burial to prevent drying, while Paul Upchurch of University College London suggested sauropods may have remained at high latitudes year-round.
- This finding demonstrates the adaptability of sauropods, which thrived in diverse climates and successfully navigated reproductive challenges during the Cretaceous period in regions far from the equator.
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Leaning Left1Leaning Right0Center8Last UpdatedBias Distribution89% Center
Bias Distribution
- 89% of the sources are Center
89% Center
11%
C 89%
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