Oldest dinosaur embryos identified

PALEONTOLOGISTS have just identified the world’s oldest known dinosaur embryos, according to a paper in the current Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

The embryos, found in their still well-preserved eggs, date to the early Jurassic Period 190 million years ago. The researchers say they are the oldest known embryos for any land-dwelling vertebrate.

They belong to Massospondylus, a member of a group of dinosaurs called prosauropods that were ancestors to the giant, plant-eating sauropods.

Sauropods are the iconic four-legged dinosaurs known for their long necks and long tails.

Professor Robert Reisz of the University of Toronto Mississauga and his colleagues made the discovery while analysing the fossilised eggs, originally found in South Africa. Reisz’s research assistant, Diane Scott, prepared the delicate fossils under high-powered microscopes and compiled the illustrations.

“I don’t think anybody else could have done this job,” Reisz said.

The embryos are so remarkably well preserved that they permitted a complete reconstruction of the skeleton and detailed interpretations of the anatomy.

The embryos were close to hatching, revealing their ossification (how much of their skeletons had turned to bone). The fossils also show that the future hatchlings would have been “oddly-proportioned” and would have looked very different from the adults of the species, according to the researchers.

“This project opens an exciting window into the early history and evolution of dinosaurs,” says Reisz.