72-Million-Year-Old Dinosaur Eggs the Size of Small Melons Found in ‘Extraordinary’ Discovery
Yahoo • • technology
Key Points:
- About 100 fossilized dinosaur eggs, roughly the size of small melons, were recently discovered at The Dinosaur Museum and Park in Mèze, southern France, dating back approximately 72 million years to the Late Cretaceous period.
- The eggs are believed to have been laid by titanosaurs, massive herbivorous dinosaurs around 50 feet long, which repeatedly returned to the same nine-mile by three-mile nesting ground.
- The site’s preservation is attributed to periodic flooding and sediment coverage, and the discovery has sparked excitement in France, with some suggesting it could become one of the world’s largest dinosaur egg deposits.
- Some paleontologists caution that while the find is significant, dinosaur eggs are relatively common in southern France; however, studying the eggshells may offer important insights into prehistoric biodiversity and climate change.
- Museum founder Alain Cabot advocates keeping the eggs in situ to prevent commercial exploitation, emphasizing the importance of public display and scientific study over private collection.