These may be the oldest eggs of any kind in the world today. They are probably somewhere around 190 million years old, and contain well preserved embryos.
The eggs, identified as those of a Massospondylus, a land dweller, were first found in 1976 in South Africa. This primitive animal is believed to be an ancestor of the brontosaurus. They were Prosauropods, which were the first species to diversify and become a widely spread group.
Because the eggs contained tiny embryo skeletons, scientists have been able to reconstruct what the babies might have looked like. Scientists say the babies looked very different from their parents. Unlike their parents, the tiny babies had relatively long legs and probably walked on all fours while they parents moved about on two legs. The embryos’ heads were also large compared to those of the adults, whose heads and necks were relatively small for their 16-foot (5 meter) tall bodies.
The small size and awkward body shape of the embryos, which were not quite ready to hatch and were only about 3/4 inch (20 cm) long, also suggest that the babies would have required care by their parents. If that is case, then these tiny embryos may show evidence of the world’s oldest known example of parental care.
If you’re interested in seeing pictures of the clutch of eggs and embryos, you can find them here
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