Torvosaurus eggs and embryos from Portugal (free pdf)

[Ben Creisler <bcreisler@gmail.com>]

From: Ben Creisler
bcreisler@gmail.com

A new open-access article in Scientific Reports:

Ricardo Araújo, Rui Castanhinha, Rui M. S. Martins, Octávio Mateus,
Christophe Hendrickx, F. Beckmann, N. Schell & L. C. Alves (2013)
Filling the gaps of dinosaur eggshell phylogeny: Late Jurassic
Theropod clutch with embryos from Portugal.
Scientific Reports 3 : Article number: 1924
doi:10.1038/srep01924
http://www.nature.com/srep/2013/130530/srep01924/full/srep01924.html

The non-avian saurischians that have associated eggshells and embryos
are represented only by the sauropodomorph Massospondylus and
Coelurosauria (derived theropods), thus missing the basal theropod
representatives. We report a dinosaur clutch containing several
crushed eggs and embryonic material ascribed to the megalosaurid
theropod Torvosaurus. It represents the first associated eggshells and
embryos of megalosauroids, thus filling an important phylogenetic gap
between two distantly related groups of saurischians. These fossils
represent the only unequivocal basal theropod embryos found to date.
The assemblage was found in early Tithonian fluvial overbank deposits
of the Lourinhã Formation in West Portugal. The morphological,
microstructural and chemical characterization results of the eggshell
fragments indicate very mild diagenesis. Furthermore, these fossils
allow unambiguous association of basal theropod osteology with a
specific and unique new eggshell morphology.


News story:

http://www.livescience.com/36971-dinosaur-embryos-discovered.html