New Late Cretaceous titanosaur sauropod dinosaur egg clutches from lower Narmada valley, India: Palaeobiology and taphonomy

Abstract

The Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Lameta Formation is well-known for its osteological and oological remains of sauropods from the eastern and western parts of the Narmada Valley, central India. The newly documented ninety-two titanosaur clutches from Dhar District (Madhya Pradesh State, central India) add further to this extensive data. Previously parataxonomy of these titanosaur clutches was carried out with a few brief reports on palaeobiological and taphonomic aspects. The quantitative data collected from the new clutches (this study) opens avenues to additionally understand more about titanosaur palaeobiology and to qualitatively understand preservation and taphonomical aspects of their egg clutches. Herein, we document 256 eggs and three clutch patterns (viz. circular, combination, linear) that are assignable to six oospecies. The high oospecies diversity points to a possible high diversity in titanosaur taxa in the Indian sub-continent though it is not reflected in titanosaurid body fossils. All the macro- and micro-structures helped in understanding egg deformation and preservation from a taphonomic point of view. Additionally, a pathologic egg documented from the study area helped in understanding the reproductive biology of titanosaurs, such as the possibility of segmented oviduct and sequential laying of eggs by titanosaurs. In addition, we made an attempt to infer aspects such as egg burial, absence of parental care, colonial nesting behavior. All the egg clutches were observed within sandy limestone and calcareous sandstone lithologies that occur in scattered outcrops with rocks showing floating siliciclastic grains in a micritic groundmass. Further, the presence of ferruginous sandstone in the Jamniapura and Padlya regions (Dhar District, central India) is indicative of a possible alluvial/fluvial setting. The presence of grainy intraclastic fabric, alveolar-septal fabrics, brecciation and shrinkage cracks observed in the clutch-bearing rocks are indicative of a low energy-low gradient palustrine depositional condition in a fluvial/alluvial setting. Finally, we envisage that a few egg clutches of this area were laid close to lake/pond margins while most were laid away from the lake/pond margins, and thus, were hatched.

Lifestyle Dynamics and Purchasing Pattern Transformation: Significant Shifts in Indonesian Society Post-Pandemic

“…A Systematic Literature Review (SLR) is an independent academic method that aims to identify and evaluate all relevant literature on a specific topic to clarify the state of existing research and identify gaps and areas requiring further research. The SLR methodology is systematic and transparent, adhering to standardized methodologies and guidelines to ensure objectivity and rigor in the analysis (Dhiman et al, 2023). Key characteristics of an SLR include: Systematic Literature Reviews, often known as SLRs, are an essential component of academic research since they serve the purpose of systematically locating and assessing all of the pertinent literature on a certain subject.…”

“…SLRs are useful for various purposes, such as demonstrating the current state of research on a topic, identifying gaps and areas requiring further research, and providing a broader and more accurate level of understanding than traditional literature reviews (Dhiman et al, 2023). They are particularly useful in fields like medicine, where they originated, and have since been adopted in other disciplines.…”

The evolution of nest site use and nest architecture in modern birds and their ancestors

“…[1] from laying eggs blow ground to ground, [2] from ground nesting to open nesting (platforms/scrapes/cups), [3] from open nesting to cavity nesting, [4] from cavities to domed nests in passerines, [5] multiple transitions from domed to open/cavity nests in passerines [3] [4] [5] Figure 1. The evolution of nest characteristics in birds and their non-avian ancestors.…”

“…Meanwhile, the fossilized remains of thousands of the eggs of sauropods, relatives of prosauropods within the clade Sauropodmorpha [19], were found distributed within little over 1 km 2 at Auca Mahuevo, Argentina, suggesting that hundreds of individuals nested colonially in that area [20]. Titanosaur sauropod clutches of Europe [7] and India [4] were buried underground. There is evidence that some sauropods repeatedly nested at a site with a peculiarly warm hydrothermal geology, which would have also facilitated incubation [21].…”

“…Despite an increasing number of fossilized clutches of dinosaur eggs being found [4][5][6], the fossil record of nest remains is sparse, particularly for early dinosaurs such as sauropodomorphs (figure 1). Based on clutch forms and eggshell porosity, sauropods primarily buried their eggs beneath the ground [7].…”