Good mama: Oviraptorid and embryos

[indohyus]

This discovery is of a mother Oviraptotid brooding over it's eggs, which have preserved embryos.


https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-03/scp-wfd030921.php

[Loon]

Wow, embryos too! Stuff like this reminds me of why oviraptorids are just my favorite group of dinosaurs. That Zhao Chuang piece in the article is also just drop dead gorgeous.

[Halichoeres]

That's very cool.

[Gothmog the Baryonyx]

I love this, anything about Oviraptorsaurs as parents really, a lovely discovery

[Faelrin]

This is an amazing discovery! Not only the remains of the parent on top, and the embryos, but gastroliths were found too. Also with that gorgeous artwork, as if I wasn't already wanting to see PNSO do some oviraptorosaurs, this really makes me want some now! I wonder what this will be named, and when it will be assuming this is a new genus or species.

[andrewsaurus rex]

There have already been 2 nests found with Citipati adults sitting on a bunch of eggs (Big Mama and Big Auntie).  So i'm not sure this can be described as 'World's First'.  But very interesting nonetheless.  I've done a lot of reading recently about oviraptoroid nest structures...they were very interesting and unique.  EDIT:  ah I see, it's the world's first with preserved embryos, yes that certainly is a big deal

The conclusion up to now, has been that the adults sitting on the nests were NOT incubating the eggs, nor laying eggs, but simply guarding them  The reason for not incubating was that the way the nest is structured, the inner ring of eggs were buried, except for their tips and not enough heat could be transferred from a brooding adult to the eggs to warm them.  The eggs on the outer ring (or rings in some nests), were too far away and would not have been covered by the adults brooding patch.

This article implies that the adult on this nest was brooding the eggs, which flies in the face of years of painstaking research that has been done.  I'll follow this with great interest.

I saw the picture in the article of the actual fossil....the eggs look to be roughly 8 inches long, so this could be another  Citipati, as their eggs are about 8 inches.  Looks to be at least 2 rings of eggs, which makes sense given the number found, and possibly part of a third ring.  It also has the distinctive pairing of eggs, seen on virtually all oviraptorid nests.   I wonder why there have been so many (at least 3 now) nests preserved with adults sitting on them.   It implies that being buried on the nest was not an uncommon event....so maybe sandstorms were common back then and when it happened the adults protective instinct would make them stick with the nest, rather than abandon it.   Interesting stuff.