Nest Structure for Sauropods: Sedimentary Criteria for Recognition of Dinosaur Nesting Traces

Chiappe, Luis M.; Schmitt, James G.; Jackson, Frankie D.; Garrido, Alberto C.; Dingus, Lowell; Grellet-Tinner, Gerald

doi:10.1669/0883-1351(2004)019<0089:nsfssc>2.0.co;2

Cited by 87 publications

(117 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Given the large size of adult Massospondylus, it is likely that the mother organized the eggs after laying them in the nest. However, the egg clutches at Rooidraai lack definitive sedimentological evidence of nest construction (13).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Oldest known dinosaurian nesting site and reproductive biology of the Early Jurassic sauropodomorphMassospondylus

Reisz

Evans

Roberts

et al. 2012

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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The extensive Early Jurassic continental strata of southern Africa have yielded an exceptional record of dinosaurs that includes scores of partial to complete skeletons of the sauropodomorph Massospondylus , ranging from embryos to large adults. In 1976 an incomplete egg clutch including in ovo embryos of this dinosaur, the oldest known example in the fossil record, was collected from a road-cut talus, but its exact provenance was uncertain. An excavation program at the site started in 2006 has yielded multiple in situ egg clutches, documenting the oldest known dinosaurian nesting site, predating other similar sites by more than 100 million years. The presence of numerous clutches of eggs, some of which contain embryonic remains, in at least four distinct horizons within a small area, provides the earliest known evidence of complex reproductive behavior including site fidelity and colonial nesting in a terrestrial vertebrate. Thus, fossil and sedimentological evidence from this nesting site provides empirical data on reproductive strategies in early dinosaurs. A temporally calibrated optimization of dinosaurian reproductive biology not only demonstrates the primary significance of the Massospondylus nesting site, but also provides additional insights into the initial stages of the evolutionary history of dinosaurs, including evidence that deposition of eggs in a tightly organized single layer in a nest evolved independently from brooding.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Oldest known dinosaurian nesting site and reproductive biology of the Early Jurassic sauropodomorphMassospondylus

Reisz

Evans

Roberts

et al. 2012

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…Fossil evidence shows that sauropods appeared to be hole nesters (e.g. Chiappe et al 2004), hadrosaurs built mounds (e.g. Thulborn 1992), oviraptorids a simple scrape (e.g.…”

Section: Nest Constructionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The socio-sexual behaviour of extant archosaurs: implications for understanding dinosaur behaviour

Isles¹

2009

Historical Biology

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“…In contrast with the numerous systematic studies published, sedimentological and taphonomic analyses are relatively scarce (e.g., Garrido et al, 2001;Chiappe et al, 2004;González Riga and Astini, 2007) hindering comparisons with other paleontological sites.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bone microstructure and diagenesis of saurischian dinosaurs from the Upper Cretaceous (Neuquén Group), Argentina

Previtera

2017

andgeo

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ABSTRACT. The Neuquén Basin in northwestern Patagonia, Argentina, holds the most important record of Cretaceous dinosaurs in South America.The Neuquén Group (Upper Cretaceous) is the richest dinosaur-bearing unit of the basin. It comprises the Río Limay, the Río Neuquén and the Río Colorado subgroups. In this study, dinosaur remains from the Río Neuquén and the Río Colorado subgroups outcropping in Mendoza are examined. In this group, isolated, disarticulated or partially articulated sauropods and theropods are abundant. However, little is known about the diagenetic history of fossil assemblages. In southern Mendoza, three fossiliferous sites were found in the areas of Paso de las Bardas (Quebrada Norte) and Cerro Guillermo (CG1, CG2). This study aims to add to the knowledge of diagenetic processes involving dinosaur remains from the Neuquén Group, as well as their relation to the depositional environment. Histologic features and diagenetic processes of dinosaur bones were analyzed through thin sections in order to interpret the degree of taphonomic alteration. The fossil-diagenetic processes inferred include substitution, fracturing, plastic deformation and different permineralization events. Combined analyses through X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and petrographic studies reveal the substitution of hydroxyapatite by francolite. The presence of fluorine -in one of the cases-suggests a link between the elemental composition and depositional environments: floodplain and fluvial channel. Permineralization stages include infilling of vascular canals, trabeculae and fractures with iron oxides and iron carbonate minerals during the burial history. This contribution represents an integral approach to the study of Cretaceous dinosaurs for assessing the diagenetic changes in the bone microstructure and the differential preservation of fossil remains in fluvial environments.

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Nest Structure for Sauropods: Sedimentary Criteria for Recognition of Dinosaur Nesting Traces

Cited by 87 publications

References 10 publications

Oldest known dinosaurian nesting site and reproductive biology of the Early Jurassic sauropodomorphMassospondylus

Oldest known dinosaurian nesting site and reproductive biology of the Early Jurassic sauropodomorphMassospondylus

The socio-sexual behaviour of extant archosaurs: implications for understanding dinosaur behaviour

Bone microstructure and diagenesis of saurischian dinosaurs from the Upper Cretaceous (Neuquén Group), Argentina

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