Can dinosaurs be recreated from fossilized eggs? Fossilized Dinosaur Eggshell Shows Care of Masonry What do fossilized dinosaur eggs look like in cross section?

When a reader called the editorial office and said that he had a fossilized egg with an animal embryo, I thought it was a stupid joke. But the caller spoke very convincingly and referred to experts. At the meeting, it became clear that all his words were pure truth.

Just please, please, don't pump. I don’t want unnecessary hype and I’m afraid that people from crime may be interested in me, - Alexey Severov began on the move (name and surname changed. - ed.). And then he took out his treasure from a plastic bag - small stone cuts, they look like halves of an egg.

On the black silicon plates, the largest of which was forty-nine millimeters long and forty millimeters wide, light-gray distinct spots were clearly visible. These spots really resemble an embryo. The embryo of either a bird, or a dinosaur, or (what the hell is not joking?) A small dragon.

Look, you can see the rudiments of limbs and eyes. I think the egg might have hatched into a bird. Most likely aquatic. But this is all, of course, assumptions, - says Alexey.

A unique find fell into the hands of an amateur paleontologist by accident. His mother ordered pebbles from the banks of the Sylva River to pave the paths in the garden. Aleksey helped his mother and found a strange one among ordinary stones - in shape it resembled a real egg. Only stone. River water clearly could not grind a small cobblestone so smoothly. He turned to professional geologists, and they determined that the find was made of silicon, but there was clearly something inside. Having carefully sawn the egg into pieces with a special cutter, Alexey saw an embryo inside the stone and began to find out how this could happen.

Elena Vasilievna Kororova, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Lithology and Geology of Combustible Fossils, Ural Mining University, agreed to investigate my find. And she confirmed that it was indeed an egg, - with these words, Alexei gave the expert opinion of a professional geologist to read.

Elena Kororova writes that the egg was preserved because it turned into stone, and this process is called "fossilization" and lasted a long time - from 60 to 100 million years. I quote lines from the expert opinion:

“The type of fossilization is silicification that occurred in a stable geochemical environment, that is, under conditions of rapid burial and subsequent flooding.” And another quote: “Finds of fossil ancient eggs of ancient birds are extremely rare, mostly shell fragments. The presented sample does not represent unambiguous and indisputable conclusions about the belonging of the egg to a certain class of oviparous animals.

According to Alexei, he found out how much his find could cost at auctions of paleontologists. He was named the starting cost - from 35 to 70 thousand dollars. But the owner of the stone egg does not want to sell the treasure just like that.

I want to find a sponsor, do some research to find out exactly which animal the embryo in the egg belongs to. And then transfer this unique exhibit to some Russian museum. Perhaps "Komsomolskaya Pravda" will help with this? - Alexei says goodbye, hiding his treasure in a plastic bag. – I contacted scientists from London via the Internet. They are ready to buy an egg from me. But it is much better if this paleontological value remains in Russia.

And sometimes the shell is decorated with intricate inclusions. Were the eggs of the earliest bird ancestors, the dinosaurs, similarly diverse?

The answer to this question is not easy, because the substances that give color to organic materials are destroyed during the formation of fossils.

And yet, the latest scientific methods allow paleontologists to gain insight into the pigments responsible for the coloring of the remains and eggs of ancient creatures.

Back in 2015, Jasmina Wiemann, then a student at the University of Bonn in Germany, found out that dinosaurs laid . In the egg shell of oviraptors, close relatives of modern birds that lived on Earth 90-70.6 million years ago, two pigments were found - biliverdin and protoporphyrin. The egg shell of modern birds also contains both pigments: the first is responsible for blue-green hues, the second for red-brown.

Wiemann continued her work and, already a graduate student at Yale University, together with colleagues from the American Museum of Natural History and the University of Bonn, made a new discovery.

The researchers found that the coloration of dinosaur eggs was more varied than expected. Moreover, for two centuries, ornithologists believed that the evolutionary mechanisms responsible for the appearance of shell color bird eggs passed independently. But in fact, the corresponding processes took place only once, and metamorphosis touched the eggs of dinosaurs. It was from them that the birds inherited, so to speak, colored eggs.

"This is yet another case where bird-like features are deeply rooted in dinosaur history," palaeontologist Mark Norell, co-author of the paper, told Gizmodo.

The egg shell of modern birds and their ancestors - dinosaurs - contains two pigments, biliverdin and protoporphyrin.

The scientist admits that previous works in order to study the composition of the shell at the molecular level, he and his colleagues had to resort to mass spectrometry. However, this method requires grinding samples, and the experts did not want to damage the most valuable fossils.

So now the team turned to an innovative technique, Raman spectroscopy. The technology allows obtaining data on the molecular composition of the sample without damaging it.

Thanks to this method, paleontologists were able to study many more fossils. They examined the egg shells of 19 extinct and modern animals. In particular, the eggs of chickens, terns (marine swallows), emus and crocodiles were analyzed. Another 15 specimens were fossils - these are the eggs of various representatives of the archosaurs, a group that included dinosaurs, pterosaurs and other extinct creatures.

The fact that dinosaurs hatched from eggs has not been disputed by scientists for a long time. Quite a lot is also known about the development of a dinosaur inside an egg. But how long did the future dinosaur spend inside the egg? Weeks, couple of months? Scientists from the University of Florida at Tallahassee believe they have figured it out.

“One of the most important mysteries of dinosaurs was that paleontologists knew little about the development of embryos. How fast did the eggs incubate - like in crocodiles and lizards, or perhaps birds, whose eggs develop very quickly? ” - says Gregory Erickson, one of the participants in the study.

The question is really interesting, although the answer to it could not be obtained for a long time. The fact is that scientists did not find so many eggs by which it would be possible to trace the development of the embryo. Relatively recently, in China, Mongolia and Argentina, paleontologists managed to discover several egg clutches at once. The study of these fossils helped to figure out how the dinosaurs evolved inside their limestone hiding places.

Plus, we managed to understand how the development of embryos took place in their first days. It was this fact that became clear thanks to the discovery in Mongolia. There, scientists discovered the eggs of protoceratops (Protoceratops andrewsi) and hyparchosaurs (Hypacrosaurus stebingeri). In the eggs, find the so-called embryonic teeth. From them you can find out the age of the eggs, since the formation of teeth goes in layers, by day. Every day the tooth is covered with another layer of dentin. And if you cut the tooth, it becomes clear what is the age of the embryo.

As it turned out, Protoceratops andrewsi spent about three months in eggs, and Hypacrosaurus stebingeri for half a year or so. Perhaps, scientists say, it is this protracted development that is one of the reasons for the extinction of dinosaurs.

Scientists have made a few more conclusions, having carefully studied all the findings. Here are the conclusions.

Dinosaurs were able to incubate eggs and were partly warm-blooded

It was previously believed that dinosaurs laid their eggs somewhere in a secluded place in the warmth and left. Now the opinion of scientists has changed. First, many dinosaur species had the ability to regulate blood temperature. It was possible to find out thanks to the shell material - ordinary calcium carbonate. In the shell, the researchers found oxygen isotopes, which are located in the materials in different ways, depending on the temperature. In colder conditions, the isotopes are more clustered, so to speak.

The team of researchers decided that the dinosaurs whose eggs were found were not as warm-blooded as modern birds. But they could raise body temperature, above the average ambient temperature. Not as efficient as birds can do, but still, it's better than nothing.

Not all dinosaurs incubated eggs, just as not all were warm-blooded. But now everything more facts indicate that these ancient animals were able to maintain the temperature of the blood and incubate their offspring. Perhaps (and most likely it is), there were completely warm-blooded species.

Adult dinosaurs looked after their offspring

Probably, not all dinosaurs did this, but scientists believe that one of the species hatched eggs and then looked after the small successors of the genus. For example, the duck-billed dinosaurs did this. Of course, scientists cannot say for sure, but indirect evidence of this exists. For example, in Montana (USA) a clutch of eggs of platypus parents was found. The shells of broken eggs were interspersed with the fossilized remains of adults. This place became a common grave for the embryos in the eggs and their parents. Since there were adults near the nest, the scientists decided that the duck-billed dinosaurs were attentive parents.

In addition, there are other similar finds. Back in 1923, a clutch of eggs, presumably Protoceratops, was found in the Gobi Desert. Next to the masonry, paleontologists discovered the remains of a previously unknown species of dinosaurs. He was considered a thief who pulled eggs from the masonry. The species was even given the name Oviraptor, that is, "the thief of eggs." It wasn't until 1990 that Oviraptor was justified. Scientists have found a clutch of the same eggs with fairly mature embryos inside. It turned out that both embryos and adults, the remains of which were also found nearby, belonged to the same species - Oviraptor.

It turned out that dinosaurs of this species not only did not steal eggs, but also guarded their own masonry. Moreover, the scientists were able to find related dinosaurs that also guarded their clutches.

Dinosaur egg shells were multi-colored


It is clear that the eggs various kinds dinosaurs differed from each other in size, color, surface pattern. So far, blue-green has been recognized as the most unusual color. Eggs of this color were laid by a dinosaur of the species Heyuannia huangi, who once lived in China. Scientists believe that this coloration could make the clutch more inconspicuous than, for example, clutch with white eggs. Nests with blue-green eggs were invisible among the foliage, and it was difficult to find them.

Many masonry were partially buried

The eggs of almost any animal have pores that provide gas exchange with environment. By the nature of the pores, scientists can determine the conditions in which the eggs were most of the time.

At the moment, not so many dinosaur eggs have been found, but these finds allow us to draw certain conclusions. So, 29 species of dinosaurs, whose clutches were found, definitely buried eggs. This can be judged by the size of the pores - the eggs that were buried had larger pores. At the same time, some theropods did nothing of the kind, and laid their eggs in open nests without covering them with earth or sand.

Paleontologists believe that burying eggs is a more primitive way of rearing offspring. And open nests are already a step towards birds and their way of nesting.

It may well be that theropods were more warm-blooded than their older relatives. This allowed them to maintain a constant masonry microclimate due to the temperature of their own bodies. Some species of dinosaurs may have made nests not on the ground in the middle of a forest or plain, but in a tree, in a cave, or on high ground.

MOSCOW, November 13 - RIA Novosti. Scientists from the Paleontological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences and three Russian universities found a fossilized dinosaur egg from the Cretaceous period in the Kemerovo region, which became the first find of its kind in Russia, according to an article published in the journal Historical Biology.

"The discovery of fragments of a fossilized dinosaur egg near the village of Shestakovo is a very important and historical discovery for us, since such finds dating back to the beginning of the Cretaceous period have never been made in Russia before. Most likely, this egg was laid by a small predatory dinosaur, Troodon, or some kind of primitive birds,” write Pavel Skuchas from the St. Petersburg state university and his colleagues.

Scientists: part of the dinosaurs built nests and hatched eggs, like birdsAn analysis of the structure of the egg shell of about 30 species of large and small dinosaurs showed that some of them did not bury their eggs in warm sand, as crocodiles do, but laid them in open nests and, presumably, hatched them.

Until recently, scientists knew only a few examples of fossilized dinosaur eggs and fragments of their shells, but in the last two decades, the picture has changed radically - now scientists know hundreds of fossilized dinosaur eggs of various species.

In recent years, paleontologists have found several egg cemeteries in northern China and the Mongolian part of the Gobi Desert, and dozens of eggs of the Earth's largest dinosaurs in Argentina. Thanks to them, we know that some dinosaurs were warm-blooded creatures, incubating their eggs in much the same way as modern birds do.

This "revolution", as scientists note, did not actually affect Russia - only one such find was made on the territory of our country. In 2009, a group of paleontologists led by Pascal Godefroit managed to find fragments of a fossilized egg in rocks that formed shortly before the extinction of dinosaurs in Chukotka. All subsequent loud statements about the discovery of dinosaur eggs turned out to be "ducks" or mistakes of amateur paleontologists who confused unusually shaped stones with fossils.



Scientists calculated the body temperature of dinosaurs from the shells of their eggsDinosaur eggshells for the first time allowed scientists to "feel" their body temperature, an analysis of the values ​​of which showed that many "terrible lizards" were not truly warm-blooded.

Skuchas and his colleagues discovered the first fragments of a "Russian" egg of dinosaurs that lived on the territory of our country at the beginning of the Cretaceous period, excavating in the vicinity of the village of Shestakovo in the south of the Kemerovo region. This village and its environs have long been considered the "capital" of the dinosaurs of Siberia, as scientists regularly find here the remains of large and small ancient dinosaurs, as well as other animals of the Mesozoic era since the mid-1950s.

In August 2008, Russian scientists were lucky - they managed to find two large fragments of the same dinosaur egg, whose dimensions were about three centimeters. By cutting off small fragments of the shell, the scientists were able to calculate its thickness - about 0.5 millimeters, and understand that their find is very similar in its structure to the fossilized eggs found in neighboring Mongolia, and belongs to a predatory feathered lizard or protoptitsa.

Became mysterious find shepherd from the village of Wet Olkhovka - dinosaur eggs. About 15 (!) fossilized eggs were found in shallow ravines. The diameter of each egg is 1-1.2 meters.

For many residents of the nearby village, this discovery was not unexpected. They say that similar dinosaur "surprises" were found here even before the war. One of the old-timers claims that such finds were dug out of wells and left on the street for beauty. After the war, people continued to find strange fossils, but they no longer attached much importance to them.

As before, neither scientists nor journalists can give an unambiguous answer about the nature of this anomaly. Some argue that these are still the eggs of ancient dinosaurs that lived here millions of years ago. It is scientifically confirmed that dinosaurs lived on the territory of the Volgograd region. Therefore, it would not be surprising to find the eggs of these animals here. But in scientific practice, such large eggs of these ancient animals have never been found. The largest are diplodocus eggs, 20 cm in diameter.

There is still a wide variety of opinions and hypotheses: the fossils found may be the fruits of ancient marine plants, the crash site of an alien ship, the phenomenon of the release of iron rocks to the surface. The fact that these formations may be the consequences of geological excavations that took place here in the late 40s speaks in favor of the last of the hypotheses.

The list of all possible versions about this can be continued indefinitely. One of the official versions of scientists is concretions. Let us explain that concretions are formations of sand, clay and minerals created by nature over millions of years in sedimentary rocks on the seabed. Everything seems to be clear, if not for the facts that cast doubt on this assumption. The size of the found nodules is more than a meter; only a few of them have been found all over the world. Volgograd fossils are unique not only for their size. They are hollow inside. In addition, the analysis showed that the inside of the eggs is sintered organic matter ... ..

Today, the place of discovery of the mysterious dinosaur eggs is especially popular among tourists. Many want to capture themselves next to anomalous fossils. If the hypothesis that these finds are still the eggs of ancient dinosaurs is subsequently confirmed, then their study may lead to a sensation.

 

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