A Theropod Dinosaur Embryo and the Affinities of the Flaming Cliffs Dinosaur Eggs

Mark A. Norell(American Museum of Natural History), James M. Clark(American Museum of Natural History), Dashzeveg Demberelyin(Mongolian Academy of Sciences), Barsbold Rhinchen(Mongolian Academy of Sciences), Luis M. Chiappe(American Museum of Natural History), Amy R. Davidson(American Museum of Natural History), Malcolm C. McKenna(American Museum of Natural History), Perle Altangerel, Michael J. Novacek(American Museum of Natural History)
Science
November 4, 1994
Cited by 326

Abstract

An embryonic skeleton of a nonavian theropod dinosaur was found preserved in an egg from Upper Cretaceous rocks in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia. Cranial features identify the embryo as a member of Oviraptoridae. Two embryo-sized skulls of dromaeosaurids, similar to that of Velociraptor, were also recovered in the nest. The eggshell microstructure is similar to that of ratite birds and is of a type common in the Djadokhta Formation at the Flaming Cliffs (Bayn Dzak). Discovery of a nest of such eggs at the Flaming Cliffs in 1923, beneath the Oviraptor philoceratops holotype, suggests that this dinosaur may have been a brooding adult.


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