Madhya Pradesh: In a unique discovery, an ‘egg-in-egg’ dinosaur egg was found in Madhya Pradesh during a field trip by the Delhi University research team. It is probably the first-of-kind find in fossil history.
The discovery is a “rare and important find,” according to the researchers because no ‘ovum-in-ovo’ egg has ever been discovered in reptiles before according to a study published. The authors documented a large number of titanosaurid sauropod nests near Padlya village close to Bagh town which they found during their trip.
Central India is widely known for discovery of fossil fuels. The team came across a sauropod dinosaur nest consisting of 10 eggs including the abnormal egg. “Two continuous and circular eggshell layers separated by a wide gap reminiscent of ovum-in-ovo (one egg inside another egg) pathology of birds,” their statement mentioned.
Professor Guntupalli V R Prasad, who is the corresponding author of the published article, concurred with his colleague. “The new pathological egg is a rare and important find as no ovum-in-ovo egg was found in reptiles until now and as it brings out significant information on whether dinosaurs had a reproductive biology similar to that of turtles and lizards or their immediate cousin’s crocodiles and birds.”