The smallest egg is just 29mm long. <\/p>
In an exciting discovery, a team of palaeontologists from China has described the smallest dinosaur eggs ever recorded. <\/strong><\/p> The fossil \u2013 which includes a clutch of six tiny eggs \u2013 was found in 2021 on a field survey at a construction site near Ganzhou in south-east China. It is significant for our understanding of the evolution of theropods in the Late Cretaceous, say the team, who published their findings in\u00a0Historical Biology<\/a><\/em>.<\/p> The smallest of the eggs is just 29mm long, about the size of a cherry, making it considerably smaller than the previous record-holder, which measured 45.5mm x 40.4mm x 34.4mm. <\/p> Through meticulous analysis, including advanced electron microscopy, the team identified the eggs as belonging to a non-avian theropod \u2013 a\u00a0group of carnivorous, bipedal\u00a0dinosaurs \u2013 from the Late Cretaceous period, approximately 80 million years ago. <\/p> Their findings suggest the eggs come from a previously unknown ootaxon (a taxonomic classification of egg fossils), which they’ve named\u00a0Minioolithus ganzhouensis<\/em>.<\/p> The team has exciting plans to continue their research, including further analysis of the site, which may hold more clues about dinosaur nesting habits and reproductive processes. They say the discovery could unlock deeper knowledge of how these ancient creatures developed before hatching.<\/p> Main image: the six little eggs belong to the newly identified theropod species\u00a0Minioolithus ganzhouensis\/China University of Geosciences (Wuhan)<\/em><\/p> Discover more awe-inspiring stories from around the world<\/strong><\/p> The smallest egg is just 29mm long. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":42988,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"2"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/10\/smallest-dinosaur-eggs-ever-found-dug-up-on-chinese-building-site.jpg",1280,853,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/10\/smallest-dinosaur-eggs-ever-found-dug-up-on-chinese-building-site-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/10\/smallest-dinosaur-eggs-ever-found-dug-up-on-chinese-building-site-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/10\/smallest-dinosaur-eggs-ever-found-dug-up-on-chinese-building-site-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/10\/smallest-dinosaur-eggs-ever-found-dug-up-on-chinese-building-site-1024x682.jpg",800,533,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/10\/smallest-dinosaur-eggs-ever-found-dug-up-on-chinese-building-site.jpg",1280,853,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/10\/smallest-dinosaur-eggs-ever-found-dug-up-on-chinese-building-site.jpg",1280,853,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"The smallest egg is just 29mm long.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/42987"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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