Minute theropod eggs and embryo from the Lower Cretaceous of Thailand and the dinosaur-bird transition

We report on very small fossil eggs from the Lower Cretaceous of Thailand, one of them containing a theropod embryo, which display a remarkable mosaic of characters. While the surficial ornamentation is typical of non-avian saurischian dinosaurs, the three-layered prismatic structure of the eggshell...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Die Naturwissenschaften 2005-10, Vol.92 (10), p.477-482
Main Authors: Buffetaut, Eric, Grellet-Tinner, Gerald, Suteethorn, Varavudh, Cuny, Gilles, Tong, Haiyan, Košir, Adrijan, Cavin, Lionel, Chitsing, Suwanna, Griffiths, Peter J, Tabouelle, Jérôme, Le Loeuff, Jean
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Birds - anatomy & histology
Birds - embryology
China
Dinosaurs - anatomy & histology
Dinosaurs - embryology
Earth Sciences
Embryo, Nonmammalian
Female
Fossils
Microscopy, Electron, Scanning
Ovum - ultrastructure
Paleontology
Sciences of the Universe
Thailand
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Summary:We report on very small fossil eggs from the Lower Cretaceous of Thailand, one of them containing a theropod embryo, which display a remarkable mosaic of characters. While the surficial ornamentation is typical of non-avian saurischian dinosaurs, the three-layered prismatic structure of the eggshell is currently known only in extant and fossil eggs associated with birds. These eggs, about the size of a goldfinch's, mirror at the reproductive level the retention of small body size that was paramount in the transition from non-avian theropods to birds. The egg-layer may have been a small feathered theropod similar to those recently found in China.
ISSN:0028-1042
1432-1904
DOI:10.1007/s00114-005-0022-9