Important Contributions of the South American Record to the Understanding of Dinosaur Reproduction

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Important Contributions of the South American Record to the Understanding of Dinosaur Reproduction Khosla, A. and Lucas, S.G., eds., 2016, Cretaceous Period: Biotic Diversity and Biogeography. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 71. 91 IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE SOUTH AMERICAN RECORD TO THE UNDERSTANDING OF DINOSAUR REPRODUCTION MARIELA SOLEDAD FERNÁNDEZ Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente, (INIBIOMA–CONICET), Quintral 1250, 8300, San Carlos de Bariloche, Río Negro, Argentina. e-mail: [email protected] Abstract—South American fossil eggs display a very rich record in the Cretaceous, which permits an understanding of dinosaur reproduction. In this paper I review all dinosaur ootaxa described at the moment and discuss their relationships and geographical distribution. Macro characters of eggshells were studied and interpreted as a possible source of paleobiological knowledge, whereas several other macro characters are questioned or discussed. Three megaloolithid oospecies have been described for North Patagonia, and they have been compared with worldwide materials revealing the Gondwana distribution. Two fusioolithid eggshells were described, and one of them, Fusioolithis baghensis, was synonymized with Indian, French and Spanish materials, indicating that this widespread oospecies was laid by titanosaurs because they share the same features as the Auca Mahuevo eggs. Faveoloolithid eggs have been compared from La Rioja, La Pampa, Uruguay and Patagonia, reflecting that one kind of dinosaur was reproducing in all Argentina and Uruguay with this kind of eggshell. Theropod eggs have been described from Río Negro province, and ornithothoracean eggs have been compared from Neuquán city with those of Brazil, and apparently the same group was reproducing in both areas during the Late Cretaceous. INTRODUCTION Formation, from Brazil (Price, 1951). These materials have been The amniotic egg was a great novelty in the evolution of related to the French sauropod Hypselosaurus. In fact, those dinosaur tetrapods. These complex structures allowed those animals to conquer eggs found in the Danian of the Provence region of France look similar new environments. Thus, its structure allowed them to reproduce in to them (Price, 1951). This Brazilian egg is spherical in shape, with a regions remote from bodies of water, so they were able to conquer 15 cm diameter, but the external surface has not been preserved, and diverse terrestrial environments (McFarland et al., 1979; Curtis and the egg just preserves its radial structural section. On the other hand, Barnes, 1993; Carpenter, 1999). The development of extra-embryonic the taxon Hypselosaurus (actually a nomen dubium) is not recorded in membranes gave to the embryo the aquatic environment for their correct Brazil, so because of that the egg was merely reassigned to the family development, so amniotic tetrapods could eliminate their larval stages, Titanosauridae, the sauropod family that includes Hypselosaurus so vulnerable to predation. The hard eggshells, composed of calcite (Price, 1951; Upchurch et al., 2004). or aragonite, provided to animals the protection from mechanical and The first fossil egg found in Argentina was collected from the physiological impediments, delimiting an isolated space with suitable basal part of the “rocanense” bed, a few kilometers from General conditions for the life of the embryo (McFarland et al., 1979; Curtis Roca city (Río Negro province). These fossils suffered a lithogenetic and Barnes, 1993). Dinosaurs, like most reptiles, reproduced by eggs, transformation, leaving only the external mold (Frengüelli, 1951). which are often preserved as fossils (Carroll, 1997; Chiappe et al., In Uruguay, dinosaur eggshells were collected from the Upper 2001; García, 2009). Cretaceous Ascencio Formation. Those materials were studied in detail South America dinosaurs have been successfully studied and by Erben in 1975, who determined that they belonged to at least two have a wide record from rocks of Cretaceous age. In this paper, I different taxa, cf. Ornithischia, family indet., genus Tacuaremborum and present a summary of all dinosaur egg taxa found in South America, Order Saurischia, cf. family Titanosauridae, genus Sphaerovum. Those more precisely in Argentina, and I will undertake a short discussion materials are silicified, so it is impossible to study their microstructure. of the reproductive biology of dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous, Two genera and two species were identified from these eggshells, based on what we know so far. In South America, three megaloolithid Sphaerovum erbeni and Tacuaremborum oblongum (Mones, 1980). oospecies have been recorded to date (Megaloolithus jabalpurensis CHRONOLOGICAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO EACH OOFAMILY Khosla and Sahni, 1995, Megaloolithus cylindricus Khosla and Sahni, 1995, Megaloolithus megadermus Mohabey, 1998), two Fusioolithidae Megaloolithid eggs: Calvo et al. (1997) described the first oospecies (Fusioolithus baghensis (Khosla and Sahni, 1995) and oospecies from Neuquén, Megaloolithus patagonicus. In Neuquén Fusioolithus berthei Fernández and Khosla, 2015)), one faveoloolithid province, one of the most impressive nesting sites in the world, the oospecies (Paquiloolithus rionegrinus Simón 2002), one theropod Auca Mahuevo locality, was found. It encompasses hundreds of nests oospecies (Arriagadoolithus patagoniensis Kundrát, Novas, Agnolin in the Anacleto Formation, Campanian, Upper Cretaceous (Chiappe and Powell, 2012) and one enanthiornithine egg (referred to oofamily et al., 1998; Coria et al., 2007). In this locality the sedimentological Laevisioolithidae) are known. structure of six nests was studied. According to Chiappe et al. (2004), The oofamilies Megaloolithidae, Fusioolithidae and the dinosaurs used their fore limbs to dig their nests. Faveoloolithidae have been related to titanosaur sauropods (Chiappe Grellet-Tinner et al. (2007) described megaloolithid egg and et al., 1998; Grellet-Tinner et al., 2006; Salgado et al., 2007; Grellet- eggshells in Minas Gerais, Brazil (Baurú Basin, Upper Cretaceous). Tinner and Fiorelli, 2011; Fernández and Khosla, 2015). The oofamily These authors compared them with the Auca Mahuevo eggs, concluding Megaloolithidae has also been related to hadrosaurs (Grigorecu, 1994). that the Baurú eggshells are similar to those assigned to the Titanosauria. On the other hand, the only oospecies that have been described in Simón (1999) described eggshells of the Oofamily Megaloolithidae. Argentina and have been related to their producers are: Arriagadoolithus Salgado et al. (2007, 2009) published two articles describing two types patagoniensis to alvarezsaurid theropods, laevisioolithid eggs from of megaloolithid eggs that range in diameter between 10-12 cm. The Neuquén city have been related to ornithothoraces birds and Fusioolithus most important contribution of these works was that megaloolithid baghensis from Auca Mahuevo has been related with titanosaurs. On eggshells are associated with other kinds of eggshells in their nesting the other hand, in this report I will analyze the macrocharacters of the areas (Salgado et al., 2009; Coria et al., 2010). eggshells to interpret patterns of reproduction of these dinosaurs. The Coria et al. (2010) described two clutches from Bajo de Santa characters analyzed were: eggshell thickness, water vapor conductance, Rosa, where both clutches appear at the same level; the clutches are ornamentation and egg size. different in that they are integrated by eggs of different oofamilies: Megaloolithidae and Faveoloolithidae. Fernández and Khosla (2015) FIRST STUDIES IN SOUTH AMERICA described all of the megaloolithid materials from Salitral Ojo de Agua In 1951, a dinosaur egg was found in the Upper Cretaceous Baurú and Bajo de Santa Rosa, comparing them with the worldwide record. 92 These authors found that four of these oospecies are common in South pointed end downwards, a position that would have exposed the pole America, India, Africa and Europe. The oospecies in common are M. containing the air cell, and precluded egg turning, although there is no jabalpurensis, M. cylindricus, M. megadermus and F. baghensis. In evidence for nesting structures. This egg position is not seen in living addition, these authors described a new oospecies apparently endemic birds, with the exception of the basal galliform megapodes that place to South America, F. berthei. their eggs within mounds of vegetation or burrows (Garcia et al., 2008). Recently, a new oospecies, Pseudomegaloolithus atlasi This accumulation reveals a novel nesting behavior in Mesozoic Aves (Chassagne-Manoukian et al.. 2013) from Morocco was erected, that was perhaps shared with avian theropods and more basal troodontid and these authors have related megaloolithid materials from South theropods (Fernández et al., 2014). America to those from India (Chassagne-Manoukian et al., 2013). Otherwise, in 2014, the first avian fossil egg from Brazil were The fossil record of megaloolithids in Morocco indicates an ancient described, which were discovered in Upper Cretaceous deposits Gondwana ancestry for this group, and even is informative on the of the Vale do Rio do Peixe Formation in the Bauru Group of São relationship between these three areas during the Upper Cretaceous. Paulo in the southeastern part of the country. These eggshells of It indicates that megaloolithid producers, the titanosaur dinosaurs, 125.5-μm-thickness show three structural layers with both prismatic lived in Auca Mahuevo (Neuquén province), Bajo de Santa Rosa and aprismatic
Recommended publications
  • Tracking Triggering Mechanisms for Soft-Sediment Deformation Structures in the Late Cretaceous Uberaba Formation, Bauru Basin, Brazil
    SILEIR RA A D B E E G D E A O D L E O I G C I A O ARTICLE BJGEO S DOI: 10.1590/2317-4889202020190100 Brazilian Journal of Geology D ESDE 1946 Tracking triggering mechanisms for soft-sediment deformation structures in the Late Cretaceous Uberaba Formation, Bauru Basin, Brazil Luciano Alessandretti1* , Lucas Veríssimo Warren2 , Maurício Guerreiro Martinho dos Santos3 , Matheus Carvalho Virga1 Abstract Soft-sediment deformation (SSD) structures are widespread in the sedimentary record, and numerous triggering mechanisms can induce its development, including glaciation, earthquakes, overloading, ground-water fluctuations, and wave movement. The Late Cretaceous Ubera- ba Formation preserves SSD structures as small- and large-scale load casts and associated flame structures, pseudonodules, and convolute laminations observed in the contact of three well-defined intervals among fine- to coarse-grained lithic and conglomeratic sandstone with fine-grained arkose and mudstone beds. Based on the morphology of the SSD structures, sedimentary facies of the Uberaba Formation, and similarities with previous observations in the geological record and laboratory models, these features are assigned to liquefaction-fluidization processes as the major deformational mechanism triggered by seismic and aseismic agents. We propose that a deformation occurred just after the sedimentation triggered by seismic shock waves and overloading, induced by the sudden deposition of coarse-grained sandy debris on fine-grained sediments. Some of these structures can be classified as seismites, providing evidence of intraplate seismicity within the inner part of the South American Platform during the Late Cretaceous. This seismic activity is likely related to the uplift of the Alto Paranaíba High along reactivations of regional structures inherited from Proterozoic crustal discontinuities and coeval explosive magmatism of the Minas- Goiás Alkaline Province.
    [Show full text]
  • [PDF] Dinosaur Eggshell from the Red Sandstone Group of Tanzania
    Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 24(2):494±497, June 2004 q 2004 by the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology NOTE DINOSAUR EGGSHELL FROM THE RED SANDSTONE GROUP OF TANZANIA MICHAEL D. GOTTFRIED1, PATRICK M. O'CONNOR2, FRANKIE D. JACKSON3, ERIC M. ROBERTS4, and REMEGIUS CHAMI5, 1Mich- igan State University Museum, East Lansing, Michigan, 48824, [email protected]; 2College of Osteopathic Medicine, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, 45701; 3Department of Earth Sciences, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, 59717; 4Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84112, 5Antiquities Unit, P.O. Box 2280, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Investigations over the last several decades at Gondwanan Mesozoic Although the age of the Red Sandstone Group is poorly understood (see localities have signi®cantly expanded our knowledge of the diversity Damblon et al., 1998), a Cretaceous age is suggested at this site based and distribution of Southern Hemisphere dinosaurs. These records are on (1) the overall composition of the fauna, which includes titanosaurid? primarily based on skeletal remains, but included among them are in- sauropods and both avian and nonavian theropods, as well as osteo- stances of preserved eggshell, notably from Argentina (e.g., Calvo et glossomorph ®shes, and (2) the possibility that these deposits may be al., 1997; Chiappe et al., 1998) and India (e.g., Khosla and Sahni, 1995). approximately coeval with the Cretaceous dinosaur beds of Malawi (Ja- In general, however, dinosaur eggshell is relatively poorly known from cobs et al., 1990), which lie ca. 200 km southeast of the Mbeya region. Gondwana, and from Africa in particular.
    [Show full text]
  • Agroforestry for Organic Egg Production in the Netherlands
    System Report: Agroforestry for Organic Egg Production in the Netherlands Project name AGFORWARD (613520) Work-package 5: Agroforestry for Livestock farmers Specific group Agroforestry for organic egg production in The Netherlands Deliverable Contribution to Deliverable 5.13 (5.1): Detailed system description of a case study system Date of report 12 November 2015 Authors Monique Bestman Contact [email protected] Approved John Hermansen (20 January 2016) Paul Burgess (11 April 2016) Contents 1 Context ............................................................................................................................................. 2 2 Background ...................................................................................................................................... 2 3 Description of system ...................................................................................................................... 3 4 Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................................... 8 5 References ....................................................................................................................................... 8 AGFORWARD (Grant Agreement N° 613520) is co-funded by the European Commission, Directorate General for Research & Innovation, within the 7th Framework Programme of RTD. The views and opinions expressed in this report are purely those of the writers and may not in any circumstances be regarded as stating an official
    [Show full text]
  • Organic Egg Production, Egg Quality, Calcium Utilization, and Digestibility
    Brazilian Journal of Poultry Science Revista Brasileira de Ciência Avícola Organic Egg Production, Egg Quality, Calcium ISSN 1516-635X Oct - Dec 2018 / v.20 / n.4 / 717-724 Utilization, and Digestibility in Laying Hens Fed with Mushroom (Flammulina velutipes) Stem Waste http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1806-9061-2018-0756 Author(s) ABSTRACT Mahfuz SI,II https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8191-3028 The possibility of using mushroom (Flammulina velutipes) stem waste Song HI,III https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4505-9204 (FVW) in layer diets was explored in this study. A total of 180, 40-week- Wei JI Chen MI old ISA Brown laying hens were randomly assigned to 5 groups, with Zhen DI Nahar JIV 6 replications of 6 birds for each group. Layers were fed a standard Liu ZIV basal diet as control; antibiotic (0.05% flavomycin); 2% FVW; 4%FVW; I School of Life Science, Jilin Agricultural University, and 6% FVW. No significant differences (p>0.05) were observed on Changchun-130118, Jilin, China. II Department of Animal Nutrition, Sylhet hen daily egg production, egg weight, egg mass, unmarketable eggs, Agricultural University, Sylhet-3100, Bangladesh. feed intake, feed conversion ratio, and live weight among experimental III Engineering Research Center of Chinese Ministry of Education for Edible and Medicinal Fungi, groups. Haugh unit was found higher (p<0.05) in FVW fed groups than Changchun-130118, Jilin, China. in antibiotic fed groups. Shape index, shell weight, shell thickness, yolk IV College of Chinese Medicine Materials, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun-130118, Jilin, weight, yolk index, yolk weight and albumen weight were not affected China.
    [Show full text]
  • Invertebrate Ichnofossils from the Adamantina Formation (Bauru Basin, Late Cretaceous), Brazil
    Rev. bras. paleontol. 9(2):211-220, Maio/Agosto 2006 © 2006 by the Sociedade Brasileira de Paleontologia INVERTEBRATE ICHNOFOSSILS FROM THE ADAMANTINA FORMATION (BAURU BASIN, LATE CRETACEOUS), BRAZIL ANTONIO CARLOS SEQUEIRA FERNANDES Departamento de Geologia e Paleontologia, Museu Nacional, UFRJ, Quinta da Boa Vista, São Cristóvão, 20940-040, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. [email protected] ISMAR DE SOUZA CARVALHO Departamento de Geologia, Instituto de Geociências, UFRJ, 21949-900, Cidade Universitária, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. [email protected] ABSTRACT – The Bauru Group is a sequence at least 300 m in thickness, of Cretaceous age (Turonian- Maastrichtian), located in southeastern Brazil (Bauru Basin), and consists of three formations, namely Adamantina, Uberaba and Marília. Throughout the Upper Cretaceous, there was an alternation between severely hot dry and rainy seasons, and a diverse fauna and flora was established in the basin. The ichnofossils studied were found in the Adamantina Formation outcrops and were identified as Arenicolites isp., ?Macanopsis isp., Palaeophycus heberti and Taenidium barretti, which reveal the burrowing behavior of the endobenthic invertebrates. There are also other biogenic structures such as plant root traces, coprolites and vertebrate fossil egg nests. The Adamantina Formation (Turonian-Santonian) is a sequence of fine sandstones, mudstones, siltstones and muddy sandstones, whose sediments are interpreted as deposited in exposed channel-bars and floodplains associated areas of braided fluvial environments. Key words: Bauru Basin, ichnofossils, late Cretaceous, continental palaeoenvironments, Adamantina Formation. RESUMO – O Grupo Bauru é uma seqüência de pelo menos 300 m de espessura, de idade cretácica (Turoniano- Maastrichtiano), localizada no Sudeste do Brasil (bacia Bauru), e consiste das formações Adamantina, Uberaba e Marília.
    [Show full text]
  • Perinate and Eggs of a Giant Caenagnathid Dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Central China
    ARTICLE Received 29 Jul 2016 | Accepted 15 Feb 2017 | Published 9 May 2017 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms14952 OPEN Perinate and eggs of a giant caenagnathid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of central China Hanyong Pu1, Darla K. Zelenitsky2, Junchang Lu¨3, Philip J. Currie4, Kenneth Carpenter5,LiXu1, Eva B. Koppelhus4, Songhai Jia1, Le Xiao1, Huali Chuang1, Tianran Li1, Martin Kundra´t6 & Caizhi Shen3 The abundance of dinosaur eggs in Upper Cretaceous strata of Henan Province, China led to the collection and export of countless such fossils. One of these specimens, recently repatriated to China, is a partial clutch of large dinosaur eggs (Macroelongatoolithus) with a closely associated small theropod skeleton. Here we identify the specimen as an embryo and eggs of a new, large caenagnathid oviraptorosaur, Beibeilong sinensis. This specimen is the first known association between skeletal remains and eggs of caenagnathids. Caenagnathids and oviraptorids share similarities in their eggs and clutches, although the eggs of Beibeilong are significantly larger than those of oviraptorids and indicate an adult body size comparable to a gigantic caenagnathid. An abundance of Macroelongatoolithus eggs reported from Asia and North America contrasts with the dearth of giant caenagnathid skeletal remains. Regardless, the large caenagnathid-Macroelongatoolithus association revealed here suggests these dinosaurs were relatively common during the early Late Cretaceous. 1 Henan Geological Museum, Zhengzhou 450016, China. 2 Department of Geoscience, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 1N4. 3 Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing 100037, China. 4 Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2E9. 5 Prehistoric Museum, Utah State University, 155 East Main Street, Price, Utah 84501, USA.
    [Show full text]
  • 71St Annual Meeting Society of Vertebrate Paleontology Paris Las Vegas Las Vegas, Nevada, USA November 2 – 5, 2011 SESSION CONCURRENT SESSION CONCURRENT
    ISSN 1937-2809 online Journal of Supplement to the November 2011 Vertebrate Paleontology Vertebrate Society of Vertebrate Paleontology Society of Vertebrate 71st Annual Meeting Paleontology Society of Vertebrate Las Vegas Paris Nevada, USA Las Vegas, November 2 – 5, 2011 Program and Abstracts Society of Vertebrate Paleontology 71st Annual Meeting Program and Abstracts COMMITTEE MEETING ROOM POSTER SESSION/ CONCURRENT CONCURRENT SESSION EXHIBITS SESSION COMMITTEE MEETING ROOMS AUCTION EVENT REGISTRATION, CONCURRENT MERCHANDISE SESSION LOUNGE, EDUCATION & OUTREACH SPEAKER READY COMMITTEE MEETING POSTER SESSION ROOM ROOM SOCIETY OF VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY ABSTRACTS OF PAPERS SEVENTY-FIRST ANNUAL MEETING PARIS LAS VEGAS HOTEL LAS VEGAS, NV, USA NOVEMBER 2–5, 2011 HOST COMMITTEE Stephen Rowland, Co-Chair; Aubrey Bonde, Co-Chair; Joshua Bonde; David Elliott; Lee Hall; Jerry Harris; Andrew Milner; Eric Roberts EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Philip Currie, President; Blaire Van Valkenburgh, Past President; Catherine Forster, Vice President; Christopher Bell, Secretary; Ted Vlamis, Treasurer; Julia Clarke, Member at Large; Kristina Curry Rogers, Member at Large; Lars Werdelin, Member at Large SYMPOSIUM CONVENORS Roger B.J. Benson, Richard J. Butler, Nadia B. Fröbisch, Hans C.E. Larsson, Mark A. Loewen, Philip D. Mannion, Jim I. Mead, Eric M. Roberts, Scott D. Sampson, Eric D. Scott, Kathleen Springer PROGRAM COMMITTEE Jonathan Bloch, Co-Chair; Anjali Goswami, Co-Chair; Jason Anderson; Paul Barrett; Brian Beatty; Kerin Claeson; Kristina Curry Rogers; Ted Daeschler; David Evans; David Fox; Nadia B. Fröbisch; Christian Kammerer; Johannes Müller; Emily Rayfield; William Sanders; Bruce Shockey; Mary Silcox; Michelle Stocker; Rebecca Terry November 2011—PROGRAM AND ABSTRACTS 1 Members and Friends of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, The Host Committee cordially welcomes you to the 71st Annual Meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology in Las Vegas.
    [Show full text]
  • Communicating Science for Conservation
    Communicating Science for Conservation Vol. XXXIV, No. 5, May 2019 ISSN 0971-6378 (Print); 0973-2543 (Online) Magazine of Zoo Outreach Organization www.zoosprint.zooreach.org Communicating science for conservation Vol. XXXIV, No. 5, May 2019 ISSN 0971-6378 (Print); 0973-2543 (Online) Contents Fantastic Facts Amazing Spider Facts, Part-I, -- Latha G Ravikumar, Pp. 1–4 Jottings These plants are thriving in extreme cliff conditions – here’s how -- Vidya Mary George, Pp. 5–6 Instagram Instagram images, P. 7 Highlight Review of dinosaur egg fossils from Gujarat State, India -- Raju V. Vyas, Pp. 8–17 Bird-o-soar Protective tactics of the Red-wattled Lapwing -- B. Ravichandran, Pp. 18–19 Reptile Rap Distribution record of Python bivittatus in Amangarh Tiger Reserve, Uttar Pradesh, India -- Prajakta Hushangabadkar, Meraj Anwar & Shariq Shafi, Pp. 20–22 Bugs R All Red Helen of the evergreen forests found for the first time in western West Bengal -- Kalyan Mukherjee, Pp. 23–24 Record of the aquatic leech Poecelobdella manilensis from Porur Lake, Chennai -- Muthukaruppan Gobi & Richard Thilagaraj, Pp. 25–26 Mammal Tales Colour abnormality of Macaca radiata at Grizzled Giant Squirrel Wildlife Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu, India -- R. Deepan, B. Vickram & A. Samson, Pp. 27–28 Field Report Tata Steel Zoological Park, Jamshedpur, Jharkhand - Residential Nature Camp on Awareness on Biodiversity & Willdife Conservation and Earth Day 2019 celebrations -- Seem Rani, Pp. 29–31 Workshop on Climate Change and Wildlife at Institute of Forestry, Pokhara, Nepal -- Prabhat Kiran Bhattarai, Pp. 32–34 Workshop on House Sparrow: Concern and Conservation in District Institute of Education and Training (DIET)-Lalitpur, Uttar Pradesh -- Akhilesh Kumar, Sonika Kushwaha & Pushpendra Singh Chauhan, Pp.
    [Show full text]
  • Abstract Book.Pdf
    Welcome! Welcome to the VI Symposium on Dinosaur Eggs and Babies, the return of this periodic gathering to the Iberian Peninsula, when it hatched eighteen years ago. From the slopes of the Pyrenees, we have followed the first steps of dinosaurs through France, Argentina, the United States and China. Today, we come back and see the coast where the first theropod embryos were discovered twenty years ago. Since the end of the last century, Paleoology, much like other branches of palaeontology, has evolved thanks to the advance of new methodologies and analytical tools, becoming a progressively more interdisciplinary area of knowledge. Dinosaur babies and embryos, rare findings back when these meetings started, seem to be everywhere now that we learn to look for them under the light of the microscope. New astonishing specimens allow us to understand how Mesozoic dinosaurs mate and reproduce. Oology, our parent discipline in the modern world, has made great advances in understanding the form and function of the egg, and its applications on poultry industry are countless. More than thirty contributions evidence that our field remains small but alive and healthy. We hope that you find in this Symposium an opportunity to share knowledge and open new lines of collaboration. And do not forget to enjoy your stay in Portugal. The host committee CONTENTS How to get to the FCT 6 Acknowledgements 10 PROGRAM 11 ABSTRACTS 14 THE FIRST ORNITHOMIMID EMBRYO IN A SHELL WITH A SINGLE STRUCTURAL LAYER: A CHALLENGE TO ORTHODOXY 15 Araújo R., Lamb J., Atkinson P., Martins R. M. S., Polcyn M.J., Fernandez V.
    [Show full text]
  • Cáscaras De Huevos De Dinosaurios De La Formación Allen (Campaniano-Maastrichtiano), En Salitral Moreno, Provincia De Río Negro, Argentina
    AMEGHINIANA (Rev. Asoc. Paleontol. Argent.) - 43 (3): 513-528. Buenos Aires, 30-9-2006 ISSN 0002-7014 Cáscaras de huevos de dinosaurios de la Formación Allen (Campaniano-Maastrichtiano), en Salitral Moreno, provincia de Río Negro, Argentina María Edith SIMÓN1 Abstract. DINOSAUR EGGSHELLS FROM THE ALLEN FORMATION (CAMPANIAN-MAASTRICHTIAN), AT SALITRAL MORENO, RÍO NEGRO PROVINCE, ARGENTINA. A detailed description of two morphotypes of dinosaur eggshells from Salitral Moreno, Rio Negro Province (Allen Formation, Upper Cretaceous) is presented. One of them is described as Patagoolithus salitralensis, a new oogenus et oospecies nov. belonging to the Megaloolithidae, and the second is referred as ?Faveoloolithidae, oogenus et oospecies indet. A detailed ultrastructural description of both morphotypes is provided, as well as, the chemical and mineralogical analysis of ?Faveoloolithidae oogen. et oospec. indet. In the studied sections, three eggshell-bearing levels were recognized. In the lower one (NH1) Patagoolithus salitralensis is associated to a diverse fauna of di- nosaurs, chelonians and invertebrates, and the few shell fragments are dispersed, suggesting deposition in an alluvial plain or disintegrated eggs. In NH2 and NH3, only eggshells of ?Faveoloolithidae oogenus et oospecies indet. were found. NH2 shows lateral variations in the inferred degree of transport and den- sity of the shell fragments in different sections. NH3 bears small shell fragments of the same morphotype decreasing in number towards the top. NH1 and NH3 bear rizolithes and alveolar structures, characteris- tic of calcretes, which could be indicative of palaeosoils. Resumen. En el presente trabajo se describen en detalle dos morfotipos de cáscaras de huevos de di- nosaurios hallados en Salitral Moreno (Formación Allen, Cretácico Superior), en la provincia de Río Negro.
    [Show full text]
  • Cairanoolithus: a Large Egg for a Small Dinosaur with Wide Hips
    20/11/2020 <em>Cairanoolithus</em>: a Large Egg for a Small Dinosaur With Wide Hips - UABDivulga Barcelona Research & Innovation 02/2015 Cairanoolithus: a Large Egg for a Small Dinosaur With Wide Hips The study of the microstructure of the eggshell of Cairanoolithus conducted by Albert G. Sellés and Angel Galobart, both researchers at the Catalan Institute of Palaeontology Miquel Crusafont (ICP), reveals that this egg type does not belong to sauropod dinosaurs but to ankylosaurs, and probably to Struthiosaurus, a genus of armored dinosaurs. The finding would represent the first description of thyreophora eggs (a group that includes ankylosauria and stegosauria) in the world. It is an arduous task for paleontologists to assign the fossil eggs they found in excavations to a certain dinosaur species or group of dinosaurs, especially because the lack of bones of the parents in the nests and the low probability to find embryonic remains that would help in the taxonomic assignation of the eggs. Thus, we often do not known who laid a certain fossil egg. These limitations have led scientist to design a specific system for naming and classifying fossil eggs, using concepts such as "oogenera" and "ooespecies" for its phylogenetic classification. Cairanoolithus is an oogenus discovered and described in the early 90’s. It takes its name from the first place where it was found, a site near La Cairanne, a small town from southeastern France. From then on, Cairanoolithus has been found in 25 different sites. These eggs are between 72.2 and 71.4 million years old, they are large (over 15 cm in diameter) and have a rounded shape.
    [Show full text]
  • First Ornithopod Remains from the Bajo De La Carpa Formation (Santonian, Upper Cretaceous), Northern Patagonia, Argentina
    Cretaceous Research 83 (2018) 182e193 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Cretaceous Research journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/CretRes First ornithopod remains from the Bajo de la Carpa Formation (Santonian, Upper Cretaceous), northern Patagonia, Argentina * Penelope Cruzado-Caballero a, , Leonardo S. Filippi b, Ariel H. Mendez a, Alberto C. Garrido c, d, Ignacio Díaz-Martínez a a Instituto de Investigacion en Paleobiología y Geología (CONICET-UNRN), Av. Roca 1242, General Roca, Río Negro, Argentina b Museo Municipal Argentino Urquiza, Jujuy y Chaco s/n, Rincon de los Sauces, Neuquen, Argentina c Museo Provincial de Ciencias Naturales “Prof. Dr. Juan Olsacher”, Direccion Provincial de Minería, Etcheluz y Ejercito Argentino, Zapala, Neuquen, Argentina d Departamento Geología y Petroleo, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Nacional del Comahue, Buenos Aires 1400, Neuquen, Argentina article info abstract Article history: In the last decades, the Argentinian ornithopod record has been increased with new and diverse bone Received 29 March 2017 remains found along all the Upper Cretaceous. Most of them are very incomplete and represent taxa of Received in revised form different size. As result, the studies about the palaeobiodiversity of the Ornithopoda clade in South 24 July 2017 America are complex. In this paper, new postcranial remains of an indeterminate medium-sized Accepted in revised form 30 July 2017 ornithopod from the Santonian Bajo de la Carpa Formation (Rincon de los Sauces, Neuquen province) Available online 12 August 2017 are presented. They present diagnostic features of the Ornithopoda clade, and several characters that relate them with other Argentinian ornithopods, especially with the medium-sized members of the Keywords: Ornithischia Elasmaria clade sensu Calvo et al.
    [Show full text]