A research team from Delhi University recently found an unusual, double-layered fossilised dinosaur egg in Madhya Pradesh’s Dhar district. The nest that was found, contains a total of 10 eggs that belong to the Titanosaur sub category of Sauropod dinosaurs.
As per the researchers, the abnormal egg has two circular eggshell layers, separated by a large gap in between, instead of just one. This discovery points towards newer connections between reptilian and avian evolution.
The significance of the discovery of the egg
Until this discovery, it was believed that dinosaurs had a reproductive function similar to that of reptiles like turtles (unsegmented oviduct). This pathology of ovum-in-ovo (an egg inside another egg) is identical to that of birds.
The discovery of an ovum-in-ovo egg from a Titanosaurid nest brings up the possibility that Sauropod dinosaurs possessed an oviduct morphology similar to that of crocodiles or birds. This is the first time such an egg-in-egg has been discovered in India. This abnormal dinosaur egg indicates the possibility of dinosaurs having similar reproductive functions like crocodiles and birds.
