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''Antarcticoolithus'' is an oogenus of large fossil eggs from the
- CNN
The fossil egg is visibly collapsed and folded and is characterized by a thin eggshell with a layered structure that lacks a prismatic layer and distinct pores. The oofossil is similar to that of most extant lizards and snakes (
Maastrichtian
The Maastrichtian () is, in the ICS geologic timescale, the latest age (uppermost stage) of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or Upper Cretaceous Series, the Cretaceous Period or System, and of the Mesozoic Era or Erathem. It spanned the interv ...
part of the Lopez de Bertodano Formation of Seymour Island
Seymour Island or Marambio Island, is an island in the chain of 16 major islands around the tip of the Graham Land on the Antarctic Peninsula. Graham Land is the closest part of Antarctica to South America. It lies within the section of the isla ...
, Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest co ...
. The genus contains the type species
In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen( ...
''A. bradyi'', described by Legendre et al. in 2020. The fossil egg, the first found in Antarctica, was discovered in 2011 by a Chilean team of researchers. They named the egg fossil "The Thing" in reference to the movie. The fossil measures .Fossil egg discoveries, including one in Antarctica, show dinosaurs and marine reptiles laid soft-shell eggs- CNN
Description
The fossil egg is visibly collapsed and folded and is characterized by a thin eggshell with a layered structure that lacks a prismatic layer and distinct pores. The oofossil is similar to that of most extant lizards and snakes (Lepidosauria
The Lepidosauria (, from Greek meaning ''scaled lizards'') is a subclass or superorder of reptiles, containing the orders Squamata and Rhynchocephalia. Squamata includes snakes, lizards, and amphisbaenians. Squamata contains over 9,000 species, ...
). The identity of the animal that laid the egg is unknown, but these preserved morphologies are consistent with the skeletal remains of mosasaur
Mosasaurs (from Latin ''Mosa'' meaning the 'Meuse', and Ancient Greek, Greek ' meaning 'lizard') comprise a group of extinct, large marine reptiles from the Late Cretaceous. Their first fossil remains were discovered in a limestone quarry at Ma ...
s found nearby. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that the egg belonged to an individual that was at least long, hypothesized to be a giant marine reptile. The large egg with a relatively thin eggshell may indicate a reproductive investment linked with gigantism, and lepidosaurian viviparity, in which an egg is laid and hatches immediately.Legendre et al., 2020
See also
* La Meseta Formation *South Polar region of the Cretaceous
The South Polar region of the Cretaceous comprised the continent of East Gondwana–modern day Australia and Antarctica–a product of the break-up of Gondwana in the Cretaceous Period. The southern region, during this time, was much warmer than i ...
* '' Mussaurus''
References
Bibliography
* {{Taxonbar, from=Q96372185 Egg fossils Maastrichtian life Cretaceous Antarctica Fossils of Antarctica Fossil parataxa described in 2020