Assessing the nesting strategies of Late Cretaceous titanosaurs: 3-D Clutch geometry from a new megaloolithid eggsite

Detailed mapping and excavation at the egg locality of Font del Bullidor (Vallcebre Syncline, NE Iberian Peninsula) document various clutches with megaloolithid (Megaloolithus siruguei) eggs and provide significant information on the mode of incubation of Late Cretaceous titanosaurs. Clutches of eggs are preserved in a greyish lagoonal mudstone deposited overlying a sinuous channel infill. Despite the lithological uniformity of the mudstone, clutch architecture can be inferred from the topographical position of the eggs within some clutches. Mapping methods underscore the importance of documenting the spatial relationship of the egg-bearing bed and the mapping plan, as well as an accurate 3-D coordinate acquisition. Both geometry of the clutches and taphonomic observations on particular eggs indicate that eggs were laid in a shallow pit excavated into the substrate. Most of the eggs were incubated under a cover of sediment before hatching or cracking. This corroborates previous inferences on nesting mode. □ Clutch, dinosaurs, eggs, Maastrichtian, Megaloolithus siruguei, Pyrenees. © 2009 The Authors, Journal compilation © 2009 The Lethaia Foundation.