NEW DELHI: A team of researchers from Delhi University has discovered an ‘egg-in-egg’ dinosaur egg from Madhya Pradesh, which is probably the first time in the fossil history, a statement issued by it said.
According to the researchers, the discovery is “rare” as no ‘ovum-in-ovo’ egg was found in reptiles until now. The findings have been published in the latest issue of the journal Scientific Reports.
The abnormal titanosaurid dinosaur egg was discovered in the Bagh area in MP’s Dhar district, and could provide important insights into whether dinosaurs had reproductive biology similar to that of turtles and lizards, their immediate cousins, they said.
The research team found a sauropod dinosaur nest consisting of 10 eggs including the abnormal egg which had two continuous and circular eggshell layers separated by a wide gap reminiscent of ovum-in-ovo (one egg inside another egg) pathology of birds, read the statement.
“The finding of ovum-in-ovo egg from a titanosaurid nest opens up the possibility that sauropod dinosaurs had an oviduct morphology similar to those of crocodiles or birds and they may have adapted to egg-laying characteristic of birds,’ said DU researcher Dr Harsha Dhiman.