Abstract

VILA, Bernat; JACKSON, Frankie  and  GALOBART, Àngel. First data on dinosaur eggs and clutches from Pinyes locality (Upper Cretaceous, Southern Pyrenees). Ameghiniana [online]. 2010, vol.47, n.1, pp.79-87. ISSN 1851-8044.

We describe a new megaloolithid locality discovered near Coll de Nargó (Catalonia, northeastern Iberian Peninsula). Eggs at the Pinyes site occur within extensively developed, vertically-stacked paleosols of an alluvial system. Eight clutches were excavated and mapped and biological and taphonomic aspects recorded. Three-dimensional maps were constructed using a Trimble total station, supplementing traditional planview mapping to allow more accurate interpretation of egg and clutch distribution. The Megaloolithus siruguei eggs are compressed, presenting an ellipsoidal shape. The three-dimensional geometry of two large clutches suggests that the eggs were laid in shallow, bowl-shaped depressions. Tangential thin sections of eggshells also reveal abundant pores, consistent with incubation in a high humidity/ low oxygen environment. These data support previous inferences that M. siruguei eggs were buried in shallow pits.

Keywords : Megaloolithidae; Eggs; Clutches; 3D reconstruction; Pyrenees; Excavated pits.