Evidence of Reproductive Stress in Titanosaurian Sauropods Triggered by an Increase in Ecological Competition.

ABSTRACT: The occurrence of dinosaur pathologic eggs in the Late Cretaceous of Europe is well known, but their origin remains unclear. Here we expose the results of a detailed sampling of the conspicuous fossil record of Late Cretaceous titanosaurian eggs (oogenus Megaloolithius) from several southwestern Europe basins. After examining more than 450 samples, we observed a remarkable and statistically supported occurrence of multiple pathologic eggs in a relatively short stratigraphic range at the end of the early Maastrichtian, circa 71-70 Ma. All pathologic specimens exhibit multi-layered eggshell condition, a characteristic related to dystocia, or egg retention within the female uterus for an abnormal prolonged period of time. After exploring various scenarios, the occurrence of pathologic eggs is

SUBMITTER: Selles AG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5653779 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature