Re: Dino sex

[jamolnar@juno.com]

On Tue, 15 Jul 1997 08:50:00 -0400 "Tomporowski, Steve"
<Steve.Tomporowski@us.ms.philips.com> writes:
>
>From: dannj
>
>> One alternative
>>to the "sauropod squat" would be to have rubbery egg shells (the
>>sea turtle approach), although clearly those eggs that have been
>>interpreted as being sauropod were hard shelled, which may rule this
>>line of inquiry out.
>
>Maybe not exactly ruled out.  The eggs could be soft-shelled and 
>'bouncy' in 
>the first few minutes/hours, then harden with exposure to air.  
>Possible?

Not that I know of.  Either calcium is encorporated in the egg shell
matrix and hardens it or it isn't and you get a rubbery egg.  That isn't
something that can be added to harden the egg later outside the body, as
I understand the process.

Judy Molnar
Education Associate, Virginia Living Museum
vlmed@juno.com
jamolnar@juno.com
All questions are valid; all answers are tentative.