DU Researchers Discovered A Tare Dinosaur 'Egg-In-Egg' In Madhya Pradesh

According to a statement released by Delhi University, a team of experts discovered a 'egg-in-egg' dinosaur egg from Madhya Pradesh, which is likely to be the very first time in fossil history.

The researchers explained that the discovery is a "unique and significant find," as no 'ovum-in-ovo' egg has ever been discovered in a reptile before. The findings were published in the journal Scientific Reports' most recent issue.

The unusual titanosaurid dinosaur egg was discovered in the Bagh area of MP's Dhar district, and researchers believe it could reveal whether dinosaurs had reproductive systems comparable to turtles and lizards, or crocodiles and birds, their close relatives.

Dinosaur fossils have traditionally been discovered in central India's Upper Cretaceous Lameta Formation. Near Padlya village, near Bagh town, the authors discovered a huge number of titanosaurid sauropod nests. The researchers discovered one 'abnormal egg' while investigating these nests.

According to the statement, the research team discovered a sauropod dinosaur nest with ten eggs, including one aberrant egg with two continuous and circular eggshell layers separated by a broad gap, similar to ovum-in-ovo pathology in birds.

The diseased egg's microstructure, as well as that of a nearby egg in the same nest, matched that of titanosaurid sauropod dinosaurs. It added that until now, no egg-in-egg aberrant fossil egg had been discovered in dinosaurs or other reptiles like turtles, lizards, or crocodiles.

Meanwhile, the new discovery emphasises the fact that central and western India are rich in dinosaur fossils, which could provide crucial information on dinosaur oospecies diversity, nesting behaviour, and reproductive biology