Surprise Scavengers of Rotten Dinosaur Eggs
This is a side view of egg cocoons and fractured egg shell. Scale bar = 5 cm in both cases. (Jorge Genise) Wasps may have played an important role in recycling rotting dinosaur eggs in prehistoric ecosystems, according to new research published in the journal Palaeontology on July 15.
Small insect cocoons were recently noticed in fossilized dinosaur eggs discovered in Argentina from 70 million years ago.
The cocoons are about three centimeters long and one centimeter wide, resembling the size and shape of those seen in some modern wasp species.
Many dinosaur egg fossils have been found, but this is the first one that reveals the behavior of associated organisms, a field of geology called ichnology, which studies evidence of behavior, such as burrows.
"This is the first time that these cocoons are found closely associated with an egg," said co-author Jorge Genise at the Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales in a press release.
Jorge says these findings suggest the wasps were probably part of a potentially complex scavenger food web that included other insects, like beetles, and also spiders.
The sheer size of rotting dinosaur eggs would probably have provided an abundant food source for ancient carrion communities.
Small insect cocoons were recently noticed in fossilized dinosaur eggs discovered in Argentina from 70 million years ago.
The cocoons are about three centimeters long and one centimeter wide, resembling the size and shape of those seen in some modern wasp species.
Many dinosaur egg fossils have been found, but this is the first one that reveals the behavior of associated organisms, a field of geology called ichnology, which studies evidence of behavior, such as burrows.
"This is the first time that these cocoons are found closely associated with an egg," said co-author Jorge Genise at the Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales in a press release.
Jorge says these findings suggest the wasps were probably part of a potentially complex scavenger food web that included other insects, like beetles, and also spiders.
The sheer size of rotting dinosaur eggs would probably have provided an abundant food source for ancient carrion communities.
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"The presence of wasps, which are at the top of the scavenging food webs, suggests that a complex community of invertebrates would have developed around rotten dinosaur eggs," the study abstract concludes. !
- Last Known Dinosaur Fossil Suggests Sudden Mass Extinction
"The presence of wasps, which are at the top of the scavenging food webs, suggests that a complex community of invertebrates would have developed around rotten dinosaur eggs," the study abstract concludes. !
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