Palaeontologists uncover 92 fossil nests belonging to some of India’s largest dinosaurs

The dinosaur egg fossils from the Late Cretaceous period were discovered during a recent study conducted at the Lameta Formation near the Narmada valley.

The fossils were from the Late Cretaceous period and the researchers have identified six different “oospecies,” or egg species, which suggests a higher diversity of titanosaurs than can be inferred from skeletal remains from in the region. (Image credit: PLOS)

Researchers have discovered more than 250 fossilised eggs that reveal crucial details about the lives of titanosaurs in the Indian subcontinent, according to a new study. Recent work in the Lameta Formation, located in the Narmada valley of Central India, uncovered 92 nesting sites belonging to titanosaurs, which were among the largest dinosaurs to have ever lived.

The fossils were from the Late Cretaceous period, and the researchers have identified six different “oospecies,” or egg species, which according to the research paper published in the journal PLOS ONE, suggests a higher diversity of titanosaurs than can be inferred from skeletal remains found in the region.

“Our research has revealed the presence of an extensive hatchery of titanosaur sauropod dinosaurs in the study area and offers new insights into the conditions of nest preservation and reproductive strategies of titanosaur sauropod dinosaurs just before they went extinct,” said Harsha Dhiman, lead author of the research, in a press statement.

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The layout of the nests suggests that these dinosaurs buried their eggs in shallow pits, just like modern-day crocodiles. Some of the characteristics of these eggs, like a rare case of “egg-in-egg,” indicate that titanosaurs had a reproductive physiology that is similar to that of birds and possibly even laid their eggs in a sequential manner like modern birds. Also, the close spacing of the nests left little room for adult dinosaurs, which could mean that the adults left the hatchlings to fend for themselves.

According to Guntupalli V R Prasad, co-author of the research paper, these nesting sites represent one of the largest dinosaur hatcheries in the world. The nests provide valuable insights into the lives of some of the largest dinosaurs in history, and they come from a time shortly before when dinosaurs became extinct.

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