Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
yards from the first one. This area was less than half the size of the
other, but our mapping showed the same high concentration of clus-
ters: thirty-five clutches were found.
Given this evidence, what can we reasonably conclude about the
nesting behavior of the Auca Mahuevo sauropods? First, the infre-
quency of broken eggs and eggshell fragments between the clusters
of eggs argues that these are clutches laid by a single individual dur-
ing one nesting. If we accept that, then we can conclude that fifteen
to thirty-four eggs were laid by one mother during a single sitting.
This map of egg clutches exposed cn
the flat areas of Auca Mahuevo shows
the high concentration of eggs present
at this site. Maps like this one offer
unprecedented evidence of the colonial
nesting behavior of sauropod dinosaurs.
