In Northern Spain, a massive Titanosaur nest containing 30 intact eggs has been discovered
A team of paleontologists last fall completed the extraction of two dinosaur nests containing some 30 fossilized titanosaur eggs at a site in Loarre, in northern Spain—the continuation of an earlier 2020 саmраіɡп.
(Courtesy of Carmen Nuñez Lahuerta via University of Zaragoza)
The fossil gathering project was led by the Aragosaurus-IUCA Group of the University of Zaragoza and the Portuguese NOVA University Lisbon, with 25 paleontologist and student participants from Spanish, Portuguese, and German institutions.
(Courtesy of Carmen Nuñez Lahuerta via University of Zaragoza)
(Courtesy of Carmen Nuñez Lahuerta via University of Zaragoza)
The eggs themselves are spherical in shape, each measuring about 15 centimeters (approx. 6 inches) across, according to the University of Zaragoza. They are in an optimal state for conservation and were grouped in such a way that suggests the possibility of several nests. Including these 12, the entire саmраіɡп collected 30 dinosaur eggs; which according to preliminary analysis, probably belonged to a titanosaur sauropod dinosaur, a quadruped herbivore that lived 66 million years ago during the Cretaceous period, and could have measured 66 feet in length.
“In total, five people dedicated eight hours a day for 50 days to exсаⱱаte the nest, which was finally removed with the help of a bulldozer,” said director of the excavation Miguel Moreno-Azanz of NOVA University Lisbon. In addition to this latest chunk of rock, 10 smaller pieces were also extracted in 2021.
