'Abnormal' dinosaur egg discovered in Madhya Pradesh. What it means for evolution

Researchers from Delhi University have found an unusual fossilised dinosaur egg in Madhya Pradesh. One egg was nested in the other -- a condition called ovum-in-ovo, which has been found before in birds but never in reptiles.

The discovery was made in Madhya Pradesh’s Dhar district, in the Dinosaur Fossil National Park. It was published in peer-reviewed journal scientific reports.

Examining the fossilised egg of a titanosaurid dinosaur has opened up to researchers the possibility of a connection between the evolution of birds and reptiles.

“The discovery of ovum-in-ovo egg from a titanosaurid dinosaur nest suggests that their oviduct morphology was similar to that of birds opening up the possibility for sequential laying of eggs in this group of sauropod dinosaurs,” the study said. “This new find underscores that the ovum-in-ovo pathology is not unique to birds and sauropods share a reproductive behavior very similar to that of other archosaurs.”