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Pterodaustro (pterosaur) egg preserved in 3-D (free pdf)



From: Ben Creisler
bcreisler@gmail.com


A new paper in open access--interesting similarity to Hamipterus egg paper:



Gerald Grellet-Tinner, Michael Thompson, Lucas E. Fiorelli, Eloísa
Argañaraz, Laura Codorniú & E. Martín Hechenleitner (2014)
The first pterosaur 3-D egg: Implications for Pterodaustro guinazui
nesting strategies, an Albian filter feeder pterosaur from central
Argentina.
Geoscience Frontiers (advance online publication)
DOI: 10.1016/j.gsf.2014.05.002
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987114000887

Highlights

We report the first partial 3D egg of Pterodaustro guinazui, from
central Argentina.
Microscopic characterizations indicate a pristine preservation of the eggshells.
P. guinazui may have used a nesting strategy similar to those of
grebes and flamingos.

Abstract

The increasing number of fossil pterosaur eggs sheds light on nesting
environments and breeding behaviors of these extinct flying reptiles.
Here we report the first partial three-dimensional egg of the
pterosaur, Pterodaustro guinazui, from central Argentina. The specimen
was discovered from the same Albian deposits as the exceptional P.
guinazui embryo described in 2004. Microscopic characterizations
indicate a pristine preservation of the 50 μm thick calcium carbonate,
which differs significantly from the soft shell of Chinese pterosaur
eggs. Estimate of the eggshell conductance implies that the nest had a
minimum moisture content of 75%. This moisture estimate, combined with
geological and taphonomical data, suggests that P. guinazui may have
adopted a nesting strategy similar to those of grebes and flamingos
rather than being buried on land, as previously hypothesized.
Moreover, our results demonstrate that the nesting paleoenvironment of
this pterosaur species was closely linked to a mesohaline lacustrine
ecosystem in a basin governed by regional tectonic subsidence, a
setting characteristic for the feeding and reproduction of modern
flamingos.