Re: "Brooding" Oviraptor

[ornstn@inforamp.net (Ronald Orenstein)]

>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

If this is true it would match the situation in (for example) ostriches, in
which a number of females lay in a single nst which is then brooded by the male.
--
Ronald I. Orenstein                           Phone: (905) 820-7886 (home)
International Wildlife Coalition              Fax/Modem: (905) 569-0116 (home)
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