Researchers uncover 92 fossil nests belonging to India’s largest dinosaurs

The discovery of more than 250 fossilized eggs reveals intimate details about the lives of тιтanosaurs in the Indian subcontinent, according to a study published in the journal PLOS ONE by Harsha Dhiman of the University of Delhi, New Delhi, and colleagues.

Researchers uncover 92 fossil nests belonging to India's largest dinosaursAn artist’s rendering of what a тιтanosaur may have looked like. Credit: Lameta formation, CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

The Lameta Formation in central India is well-known for its fossils of dinosaur skeletons and eggs of the Late Cretaceous Period.  Recent work in the area uncovered 92 nesting sites containing a total of 256 fossil eggs belonging to тιтanosaurs, which were among the largest dinosaurs ever to live. Dhiman and colleagues were able to make inferences about these dinosaurs’ life habits after thoroughly examining these nests.

The authors identified six different egg species (oospecies), suggesting a greater diversity of тιтanosaurs than is represented by skeletal remains from this region. The team inferred from the layout of the nests that these dinosaurs buried their eggs in shallow pits like modern-day crocodiles.

Researchers uncover 92 fossil nests belonging to India's largest dinosaurs (A) Completely unhatched egg from the clutch P43. (B) Almost fully intact circular outline of egg possibly indicating it to be unhatched and no loose eggshells are found in the clutch P6. (C) Compressed egg from clutch DR10 showing hatching window (arrow showing gap) and few eggshells collected just around the hatching window (circled) which possibly represent the remnants of hatching window. (D) Egg from clutch P26 showing curved outline. (E) Deformed egg from clutch P30 showing egg surfaces slipping past each other. Credit: Dhiman et al., 2023, PLOS ONE

Certain pathologies found in the eggs, such as a rare case of an “egg-in-egg,” suggest that тιтanosaur sauropods had a reproductive physiology similar to that of birds and possibly laid their eggs sequentially, as seen in modern birds. The presence of multiple nests in the same area suggests that these dinosaurs exhibited colonial nesting behavior like many modern birds. However, the close spacing of the nests left little room for adult dinosaurs, supporting the idea that adults left the hatchlings (newborns) to fend for themselves.

Researchers uncover 92 fossil nests belonging to India's largest dinosaursA block diagram showing the interpreted depositional environment of the Lameta Formation in the study areas. Credit: Dhiman et al., 2023, PLOS ONE

Details of dinosaur reproductive habits can be difficult to determine. These fossil nests contain a wealth of information about some of the largest dinosaurs in history, and they come from just before the dinosaur extinction. The findings of this study add significantly to paleontologists’ understanding of how dinosaurs lived and evolved.

“Our research has revealed the presence of an extensive hatchery of тιтanosaur sauropod dinosaurs in the study area and offers new insights into the conditions of nest preservation and reproductive strategies of тιтanosaur sauropod dinosaurs just before they went extinct,” says lead author Harsha Dhiman.

“Together with dinosaur nests from Jabalpur in the upper Narmada valley in the east and those from Balasinor in the west, the new nesting sites from Dhar District in Madhya Pradesh (Central India), covering an east-west stretch of about 1000 km, consтιтute one of the world’s largest dinosaur hatcheries,” says Guntupalli V.R. Prasad, co-author and leader of the research team.

Provided by Public Library of Science – Note: Content may be edited

More information: Harsha Dhiman et al,. (2023). New Late Cretaceous тιтanosaur sauropod dinosaur egg clutches from lower Narmada valley, India: Palaeobiology and taphonomy, PLoS ONE. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0278242

Related Posts

250-year-old shipwreck in Orkney identified as Earl of Chatham, a former Royal Navy and whaling vessel

250-year-old shipwreck in Orkney identified as Earl of Chatham, a former Royal Navy and whaling vessel

A collaborative work carried out by archaeologists and the community of Sanday, Orkney, has finally identified a strange wreck uncovered in February 2024 as the Earl of…

5,500-year-old flint workshop uncovered near Kiryat Gat

5,500-year-old flint workshop uncovered near Kiryat Gat

Archaeologists in Israel have discovered a 5,500-year-old flint-making workshop near Kiryat Gat in a salvage excavation in Naḥal Qomem, also known as Gat-Govrin or Zeita. The excavation…

AI tool helps scholars restore and decode ancient Roman inscriptions with missing words

AI tool helps scholars restore and decode ancient Roman inscriptions with missing words

Every year, approximately 1,500 ancient Latin inscriptions are found within the territory of the former Roman Empire. These texts—carved on stone, painted on walls, or engraved on…

Neanderthal genes linked to rare brain-skull disorder, study finds

Neanderthal genes linked to rare brain-skull disorder, study finds

A recent study shows that Neanderthal DNA from ancient times can cause a neurological condition known as Chiari Malformation Type I (CM-I), where a part of the…

Lavish Roman villa with rare fish pond and frescoes unearthed in ancient Tripolis, Turkey

Lavish Roman villa with rare fish pond and frescoes unearthed in ancient Tripolis, Turkey

Archaeologists have unearthed a stunningly well-preserved Roman villa in the city of Tripolis near Denizli in western Turkey. The discovery includes rich frescoes and a rare decorative…

Rare trilobite fossil amulet unearthed at Roman site in Spain reveals unique ancient beliefs

Rare trilobite fossil amulet unearthed at Roman site in Spain reveals unique ancient beliefs

Archaeologists working at the Roman site of A Cibdá de Armea in northwestern Spain, Galicia, have uncovered an unexpected discovery: a 450-million-year-old fossilized trilobite that was intentionally…