Scientists in southeastern China's Jiangxi Province have discovered the world's smallest petrified dinosaur egg.
It is noted that this discovery provides insight into the evolution of creatures that have long been extinct.
“The size of these dinosaur eggs is small, their shells are thin, and they have spongy nodes, which distinguishes them from other known petrified remains. The previously smallest dinosaur egg found in China was approximately 45.5 x 40.4 x 34.4 mm. The length of this egg is 29 millimeters,” said Lu Fasheng, head of the Geological Survey Institute of Jiangxi Province.
A group of researchers led by him discovered six petrified eggs in Guangzhou City in 2021. Three years later, the discovery was officially confirmed. The results of the work have been published in the Historical Biology journal. The findings were determined to be from the Late Cretaceous period, dating back 80 million years.
“We believe these eggs belong to a small theropod dinosaur,” says Associate Professor Han Fenlu at the China University of Geosciences.
According to the scientists, this discovery is of great importance for understanding the evolution and reproductive methods of theropods from the Late Cretaceous period.
