Eggs with the oldest known embryos of a dinosaur found

BBC News ^ | 12 November 2010 | Katia Moskvitch

[Hotlanta Mike]

Palaeontologists have identified the oldest known dinosaur embryos, belonging to a species that lived some 190 million years ago.

The eggs of Massospondylus, containing well-perserved embryos, were unearthed in South Africa back in 1976.

The creature appears to be an ancestor of the family that includes the long-necked dino once known as Brontosaurus.

The study in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology also sheds light on the dinosaurs' early development.

[Hotlanta Mike]

"While the embryos are only about 20cm long, the adults are thought to have reached some five metres in height."

[Paladin2]

1976 is a long time ago for forensic egg cracking.

[UCANSEE2]

Dinosaur eggs are pretty darn thick. You can’t just crack them open on the side of a frying pan.

: )

[Pontiac]

1976 is a long time ago for forensic egg cracking.

A lot of collected specimens sit on a shelf waiting for some student or young associate professor to realize its significance

[Westbrook]

> 190 million years ago. The eggs of Massospondylus,
> containing well-perserved embryos,

Uh, what do they mean by well-preserved? I hope they mean in form only, as in fossilized.

And fossils can only be created in a suddenly encompassing anaerobic medium, like a mud or lava flow, not left exposed.

Very curious.

[dfwgator]

“Life finds a way.”

[SouthTexas]

You just need a cast iron skillet.

[HerrBlucher]

True, but erosion or dynamite can then expose them.

[Paladin2]

I’ve actually dug for dino eggs in MT (for fun - adult summer camp). We were looking for embryos but never found any though we did find numerous flattened eggs.

[Hardastarboard]

It depends on how big your frying pan is.

[ApplegateRanch]

Last one in is a rotten egg!

[SunkenCiv]

· GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother, and Ernest_at_the_Beach · · join list or digest · view topics · view or post blog · bookmark · post a topic · subscribe ·
	Antiquity Journal  & archive  Archaeologica  Archaeology  Archaeology Channel  BAR  Bronze Age Forum  Discover  Dogpile  Eurekalert  Google  LiveScience  Mirabilis.ca  Nat Geographic  PhysOrg  Science Daily  Science News  Texas AM  Yahoo  Excerpt, or Link only?	Thanks for the ping! I saw this online, but thought to myself, "omelet ApplegateRanch post it". ;') Thanks HotLanta for posting the topic. :') These embryos would have made great dinosaurs (or, presumably gorgonopsids) if only they'd come out of their shells. To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.
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[SunkenCiv]

I sure hope these fossil eggs were obtained legitimately, and not poached.

[Outlaw Woman]

[ApplegateRanch]

I certainly hope those hard boiled museum cure-eaters coddle those eggs.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Outlaw Woman. Judging from this photo, we’d all better make it an Arby’s night...

[SunkenCiv]

Yolk not the only one.