Dinosaurs had squishy eggs, like reptiles, new studies suggest - CNET

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Like contemporary reptiles, some dinosaurs may have hatched from soft-shelled eggs.

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Despite what movies like Jurassic Park and The Land Before Time may lead you to believe, dinosaurs may not have cracked open hard-shelled eggs as they emerged into the world. Instead, they may have had a much softer debut.

According to two studies published in Nature this week, dinosaur eggs may have been, well... squishy. 

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The first study found that, despite conjecture dinosaurs produce hard-shelled eggs, there is fossilized evidence confirming some types of dinosaur -- namely, Protoceratops and Mussaurus -- produced soft-shelled eggs. The creatures buried and incubated these eggs in moist soil, like some reptiles do today. 

The second study examined a soft-shelled egg found in Antarctica, which has since been dated at approximately 66 million years old. It's the first ever egg found in Antarctica -- which was closer to the equator and less chilly than it is now. 

The scientists responsible for the discovery aren't certain of the egg's mother. But they suggest it may have been laid by a dinosaur due to its estimated weight and its closeness to other discovered fossilized eggs belonging to non-avian dinosaurs. 

Together, the studies re-evaluate the theory all dinosaurs laid calcified, hard-shelled eggs -- like their chicken descendants -- and instead postulate dinosaurs may have been more similar to reptiles.

There's little doubt that the eggshells evolved over time to trend more toward hard shells than soft. But because there are so few soft-shelled eggs on the fossil record, it's difficult to pin down a solid evolutionary timeline. Finding an answer comes down to the time the egg was laid and the species of the dinosaur in question. 

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