Filling the gaps of dinosaur eggshell phylogeny: Late Jurassic Theropod clutch with embryos from Portugal

The non-avian saurischians that have associated eggshells and embryos are represented only by the sauropodomorph Massospondylus and Coelurosauria (derived theropods), thus missing the basal theropod representatives. We report a dinosaur clutch containing several crushed eggs and embryonic material a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scientific reports 2013-05, Vol.3 (1), p.1924-1924, Article 1924
Main Authors: Araújo, Ricardo, Castanhinha, Rui, Martins, Rui M. S., Mateus, Octávio, Hendrickx, Christophe, Beckmann, F., Schell, N., Alves, L. C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
631/136/1455
631/181/757
704/2151/209
704/2151/414
Animals
Diagenesis
Dinosaurs
Egg Shell - chemistry
Egg Shell - ultrastructure
Egg shells
Eggs
Embryo, Mammalian
Embryos
Fossils
Fractures
Humanities and Social Sciences
Jurassic
Microscopy
Morphology
multidisciplinary
Phylogenetics
Phylogeny
Portugal
Radiation
Science
Teeth
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Summary:The non-avian saurischians that have associated eggshells and embryos are represented only by the sauropodomorph Massospondylus and Coelurosauria (derived theropods), thus missing the basal theropod representatives. We report a dinosaur clutch containing several crushed eggs and embryonic material ascribed to the megalosaurid theropod Torvosaurus . It represents the first associated eggshells and embryos of megalosauroids, thus filling an important phylogenetic gap between two distantly related groups of saurischians. These fossils represent the only unequivocal basal theropod embryos found to date. The assemblage was found in early Tithonian fluvial overbank deposits of the Lourinhã Formation in West Portugal. The morphological, microstructural and chemical characterization results of the eggshell fragments indicate very mild diagenesis. Furthermore, these fossils allow unambiguous association of basal theropod osteology with a specific and unique new eggshell morphology.
ISSN:2045-2322
2045-2322
DOI:10.1038/srep01924