Egg discovery deepens tale of largest dinosaur

Key Points:

• Titanosaurs, the largest dinosaurs known, were able to reproduce at high latitudes near the southern tip of South America, using mound nests of vegetation and soil to incubate their eggs through heat generated by rotting plant material.
• Researchers found 255 titanosaur eggshell fragments in southern Argentina dating back 68 million years, representing the highest-latitude sauropod nesting site ever discovered and the southernmost evidence of dinosaur eggs.
• Unlike some modern birds, titanosaurs likely did not brood their eggs, instead burying them to maintain humidity and prevent drying out, as their highly porous eggshells required a moist environment for embryo survival.
• The discovery suggests titanosaurs may have stayed year-round or completed their reproductive cycle during warm seasons at high latitudes, challenging previous beliefs that they only migrated to these areas temporarily.
• Titanosaur hatchlings were small relative to adults but required abundant food resources to grow; nests were large and possibly communal, leaving noticeable mounds in the landscape.