[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index][Subject Index][Author Index]
Re: egg morphology and diagnosis
A couple of comments have addressed the topic of theropod eggs, and have
made the statement that, and I am paraphrasing wildly here, "theropod eggs
like oviraptor and possibly T.rex in China are elongated rather than more
oval." Could this somewhat diagnostic of theropod eggs? I am also
curious if the shape of theropod eggs was predicted in the literature
before theropod eggs were discoved (memories may have to be strained a
little here). Is there anything in the morphology of theropod pelvis's
(pelvi?; pelves?), such as being rather narrow, that indicate that their
eggs were also narrow and long?
I taped a 4 minute segment on Good Morning America about a year ago,
(yes, I *do* have good reflexes when operating the "record" feature on
my vcr), featuring those T.rex eggs from the Xin Xian (spelling) province
of China. They were spectacular and HUGE! Some type of touring exibit
to raise bucks for the Dinosaur Society. The ubiquitous Don Lessem was
interviewed, and he noted that a lot of eggs from China are adorning the
mantles of private investors. Sad...
<pb>
p.s. Lessem referred to the eggs as Tarbosaurus, not T. rex.
my message:-
I have one of these elongated eggs (approcimately 18 inches long if I
remember correctly). I know of no direct evidence to suggest that these
were theropod eggs other than what people would like them to be. One
specimen I have heard of with 'bones' may in fact just have shell fragments
poking throught the sediment. The shell structure and texture is very
similar to the eggs that were previously thought to be those of
*Protoceratops* and I thought they may represent something akin to the
larger ceratopians. I am ?obviously? wrong here:-*
Neil Clark
Curator of Palaeontology
Hunterian Museum
University of Glasgow
email: NCLARK@museum.gla.ac.uk
The first law of Geology is the law of supposition.
(Geological Howlers - ed. WDI Rolfe)