Largest-ever cluster of dinosaur eggs found

Bhopal: A team of Indian palaeontologists has discovered a nest with 12 dinosaur eggs - the largest in a single nest - in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh.

The fossilised eggs will be subjected to a radio scan to ascertain whether there is an embryo inside them.

"All the eggs were discovered from a single nest on the banks of the Hathini river," said researcher Vishal Verma.

Hundreds of such eggs have been found in the Kukshi-Wagh area of western Madhya Pradesh's Manavar tehsil in Dhar, added Verma, director of the Mangal Panchayatan Parishad.

Amateur researchers, including Govind Verma and Rajesh Chouhan, have been digging around the area for dino fossils for more than a decade.

Form

Dinosaur eggs are a great fascination for palaeontologists. The eggs, in their actual form, are said to be hard enough to escape predators' attacks, yet are soft enough for the baby reptile to break through on birth.

"These animals used to come from faraway areas to lay eggs on the sandy banks of the rivers in this area, identified scientifically as Lameta bed. The animals were 40-90 feet in length," said Verma.