Over the past several decades, there have been plenty of dinosaur fossils recovered in Heyuan, China, which has given it its local name “Home of Dinosaurs.” Most recently, fossilized dinosaur eggs were found in the bustling city center by construction workers.
New Fossilized Dinosaur Eggs Discovered
The new fossilized dinosaur eggs that were discovered in the city of Heyuan, which is located in the Chinese province of Guangdong, were found in a rather unusual set of circumstances. The city is known for the many thousands of fossils uncovered over the decades but has never seen a discovery in the city center. This is the first time that fossilized dinosaur eggs were found in a construction site in this area. There were 43 eggs recovered to be exact, and many of them look to be intact. This is great news for paleontologists as this will allow for further studies to be done on the eggs.
Heyuan and the Guiness World Record
Heyuan has had so many different fossilized dinosaur discoveries that it actually holds the Guiness World Record for the largest collection of fossilized dinosaur eggs, as seen on the Guiness World Record website. There are over 10,000 fossilized dinosaur eggs, that have been recovered and placed at the Heyuan Dinosaur Museum. The record was actually given to Heyuan in 2004, and has yet to be beaten by anyone else. The latest discovery simply means that Heyuan will continue to rule in this dino-related branch of world records.
What We Can Learn from Fossilized Dinosaur Eggs
All of the fossilized dinosaur eggs that have been recovered, once broken free from the slab of rock that they were found in, can be used to help study and understand more about how dinosaurs parented and took care of their young. Marks and damage on the eggs can give signs as to whether they were broken into by predators or not. While some of the eggs were damaged in the recovery process and will not be able to be used for study, the ones that remain could definitely open up new doors to further research and discoveries in this particular area.
Heyuan’s authorities have sent out a statement to the populace to please make sure that any further fossilized dinosaur eggs, as seen at the Heyuan Dinosaur Museum website, are handed over to them so that they can be placed under proper care. The Heyuan Dinosaur Museum, while one of the smaller museums in the world, can definitely be key to unlocking the secrets of dinosaur parenting. It is unclear as to which species of dinosaurs these eggs belonged to, and this is one of the first things that paleontologists will work to uncover.
Many species of dinosaur, such as the dreaded T-Rex, have conflicting theories as to how they parented their young. The evidence recovered from these eggs could give crucial insight into the behaviors of these tyrants and other predatory dinosaurs, should they belong to those species. In any case, this amazing discovery of fossilized dinosaur eggs will definitely continue to make the citizens of Heyuan proud for years to come.
Asia has been home to the most dinosaur fossils. For dinosaur lovers, this is every reason to visit. For some non-dinosaur-related reasons, check out this video about Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia:
https://youtu.be/p4UeJkGzzu0
