A Dinosaur Nest? Densely Packed 110-Million-Year-Old Egg Fossils - Tamba City, Hyogo
2016-01-09
Four egg fossils were found clustered together in the Sasayama Group (110 million years ago, Early Cretaceous strata) in Hyogo Prefecture. Although eggshell fossils have been found before, this is the first time in Japan that egg fossils retaining their shape have been found clustered together.
The discovery was made in a mudstone layer near where the large sauropod dinosaur Tambatitanis amicitiae (nickname = Tambaryu) was found.
The discovered egg fossils have a three-layered, elongated shape, measuring 5 cm in length, 2 cm in width, and weighing 12-15 g.
Based on these characteristics, they are presumed to be the eggs of a small theropod dinosaur or a bird.
The discovery of theropod egg fossils from the Early Cretaceous is rare worldwide. If they belong to a dinosaur, they would be the world's smallest dinosaur egg fossils.