We describe a new megaloolithid locality discovered near Coll de Nargó (Catalonia, northeastern Iberian Peninsula). Eggs at the Pinyes site occur within extensively developed, vertically-stacked paleosols of an alluvial system. Eight clutches were excavated and mapped and biological and taphonomic aspects recorded. Three-dimensional maps were constructed using a Trimble total station, supplementing traditional plan-view mapping to allow more accurate interpretation of egg and clutch distribution. The Megaloolithus siruguei eggs are compressed, presenting an ellipsoidal shape. The three-dimensional geometry of two large clutches suggests that the eggs were laid in shallow, bowl-shaped depressions. Tangential thin sections of eggshells also reveal abundant pores, consistent with incubation in a high humidity/ low oxygen environment. These data support previous inferences that M. siruguei eggs were buried in shallow pits.
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1 March 2010
First Data on Dinosaur Eggs and Clutches from Pinyes Locality (Upper Cretaceous, Southern Pyrenees)
Bernat Vila,
Frankie Jackson,
Àngel Galobart
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Ameghiniana
Vol. 47 • No. 1
March 2010
Vol. 47 • No. 1
March 2010
3D reconstruction
Clutches
eggs
Excavated pits
Hoyos excavados
Huevos
Megaloolithidae