Thursday, November 18, 2021

Scientists Discover Giant Fossilized Dinosaur Eggs

 November 16, 2021
scientists-discover-giant-fossilized-dinosaur-eggs

If finding one set of fossilized dinosaur remains is a good day for archeologists, then they recently hit the jackpot. On that note, a recent excavation provided scientists with a multitude of fossilized dinosaur eggs.

Newsweek reports archeologists found not just one dinosaur egg, but 30. Scientists found the titanosaur eggs in a two-ton rock in northern Spain. Specifically, scientists found the eggs at a Loarre, Spain dig site two months ago. What’s even more exciting is scientists predict there could be as many as 70 still inside the boulder.

An international team of paleontologists led by the Aragosaurus-IUCA Group of the University of Zaragoza collaborated with Nova University Lisbon in Portugal to discover the eggs. Miguel Moreno-Azanz Carmen Nunez-Lahuerta and Eduardo Puertolas led the team that unearthed everything. Moreno-Azanza noted they excavated the two nests in 2020 and found 30 eggs since then.

“The main objective of the 2021 campaign was the extraction of a large nest that contains at least 12 eggs that were integrated into a block of rock weighing over two tons,” Moreno-Azanza stated. “In total, five people dedicated eight hours a day for 50 days to excavate the nest, which was finally removed with the help of a bulldozer.”

Interestingly, Moreno-Azanza also noted extracting such huge rocks isn’t the norm. Nevertheless, it and 10 smaller ones are now in a Loarre warehouse. At a later date, the future Laboratory-Museum there will display them. “It is expected that next spring the space will open its doors to visitors, who will be able to follow the process of preparing and studying the fossils of this site in person,” Moreno-Azanza said.

Additionally, the Loarre Dinosaur Eggs project received funding for the next three years. Who knows just how many eggs they will find.

Scientists Find Giant ‘Sea Scorpion’ Fossil

Scientists have really been striking gold lately, it seems. Last month, paleontologists found a giant “sea scorpion” fossil.

Found in China’s Xiushan Formation, the scorpion’s remains make the ones we have today look pathetic. Dubbed Terropterus xiushanensis, it was a huge arthropod that thrived just off China’s coast. It lived roughly 435 million years ago, according to Sci-News. They commonly reached a meter in length. For reference, scorpions today don’t even reach a foot.

Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology of the Chinese Academy Sciences professor, Bo Wang, told the outlet about the species and how it hunted. According to him, the second and third pair of limbs grew larger than the rest and had spikes. This made it easier for them to catch prey. He then compared them to spiders, saying they used a type of “catching basket” to ensnare targets.

Try sleeping at night now after imagining one of these things wandering around.

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