"Brooding" Oviraptor

["Dan Lipkowitz" <lipkowit@midway.uchicago.edu>]

First off, I must say that this is an absolutely beautiful specimen.
Although much of the skeleton is missing, the bones which remain are
wonderfully articulated and oriented in a fashion which should certainly
dispell any argument that the animal was invading the nest for nefarious
purposes.

I was a bit surprised, however, to note that the eggs were of a size and
quantity which seemed (to my eye) to comprise a larger total volume than the
Oviraptor's body cavity. Unless the animal were walking around with a
grotesquely distended abdomen prior to laying the eggs (if it was in fact
the layer), I just can't see how it could have produced the entire clutch at
one time. I suppose that it's possible that the eggs were dropped over an
extended period of time (is there any history of this in modern animals?) or
produced by more than one individual, but does anyone have any ideas,
opinions, way-out conjectures or solutions regarding the seeming problem?

Happy belated New Year!

--Dan Lipkowitz
  Student of paleontology and sometime AMNH volunteer

  (so...has anyone seen my placemat yet?)