The Fossil Cache Of A Singapore Collector

[-Andy-]

Ammolite pendant I bought for my mom's bday.

Both sides of a lovely ammonite I bought in a Feng Shui shop.

[-Andy-]

Halloween special!

Severed Tentacle of the Old One

Cthulhu lovecraftus

∞ million years old

R'yleh City, South Pacific

[-Andy-]

Titanosaur Egg (partial)

Megaloolithus patagonicus

90 - 70 mya

Auca Mauva, Patagonia

[Troodon]

Big section of egg, nice

[Dracorex_hogwartsia]

Titanosaur Egg (partial)

Megaloolithus patagonicus

90 - 70 mya

Auca Mauva, Patagonia

Titanosaur_1.jpg Titanosaur_2.jpg Titanosaur_3.jpg

Very nice eggshell! I have a few pieces myself. I really love the eggshell on these eggs. It's to bad whole eggs were not available. I could kick myself but I had an opportunity years ago to buy a section of eggshell that had embryonic material including skin impressions on it but as usual in these cases I waited too long and the piece sold! I still regret that to this day.

[-Andy-]

Very nice eggshell! I have a few pieces myself. I really love the eggshell on these eggs. It's to bad whole eggs were not available. I could kick myself but I had an opportunity years ago to buy a section of eggshell that had embryonic material including skin impressions on it but as usual in these cases I waited too long and the piece sold! I still regret that to this day.

Was it by any chance sold by Extinctions?

Here I have two other pieces of Titanosaur/Saltasaurus eggshell from Auca Mahuevo. The interesting thing is, I've been comparing these two with that piece I just uploaded; they have slightly different eggshell textures. And the single large piece has a thinner cross section too.

I am not sure what to make of this. They are so similar, yet somewhat different too. Wouldn't be hard to imagine that there was more than one sauropod species in that region though.

[Troodon]

I am not sure what to make of this. They are so similar, yet somewhat different too. Wouldn't be hard to imagine that there was more than one sauropod species in that region though.

Well the eggshell surface and cross section are some of the features they look at in the identification of eggs. If your two are different and they appear that way you have two different critters. Lots of possibilities: Could be another titanosaur, a different species altogether like hadrosaur or the locality is not what was presented.

[sseth]

Wow Andy! Your collection has grown a lot since I was there last year. Great pieces.

[-Andy-]

Well the eggshell surface and cross section are some of the features they look at in the identification of eggs. If your two are different and they appear that way you have two different critters. Lots of possibilities: Could be another titanosaur, a different species altogether like hadrosaur or the locality is not what was presented.

http://www.researchgate.net/publication/228782405_The_Late_Cretaceous_nesting_site_of_Auca_Mahuevo_(Patagonia_Argentina)_eggs_nests_and_embryos_of_titanosaurian_sauropods

I did some reading-up. There seems to only be one species of titanosaur from Auca Mahuevo. I assume the difference in my eggshells is no more than the variation you might find between two T-Rex teeth for example.

The locality should be correct; large titanosaur eggshells are uncommon, and my eggshells conform to the same general shape.

Wow Andy! Your collection has grown a lot since I was there last year. Great pieces.

Thanks Seth! Wait till you see Han's collection.

[Troodon]

http://www.researchgate.net/publication/228782405_The_Late_Cretaceous_nesting_site_of_Auca_Mahuevo_(Patagonia_Argentina)_eggs_nests_and_embryos_of_titanosaurian_sauropods

I did some reading-up. There seems to only be one species of titanosaur from Auca Mahuevo. I assume the difference in my eggshells is no more than the variation you might find between two T-Rex teeth for example.

The locality should be correct; large titanosaur eggshells are uncommon, and my eggshells conform to the same general shape.

Great paper thanks. I'm still hung up with the differences in your eggshells and I don't attribute that to normal variations within a clutch or egg nesting area so I did some digging.

I always thought titanosaur eggs were 7"(17-18cm) in diameter but when I read your paper it said the eggs from that locality were 12-15cm. So I looked at another paper which I attached and wow eggs vary in size and thickness depending on site. Auca Mahuevo eggs were considered small. If you look at at the shape of your first egg it looks too big to fit into a 12-15cm diameter egg found at Auca Mahuevo. Check it out and try to determine diameter. Also measure the thickness and compare it to the table in the paper.

Your paper also said that the surface ornamentation of the shell looks like rounded tubercles which closer fits your second egg but not the first.

My conclusion, if the diameter of your first egg is from a large egg, is that they are from two different localities and species. The first egg is probably from the Allen Formation which has larger eggs.

Saur eggs.pdf

[Dracorex_hogwartsia]

Was it by any chance sold by Extinctions?

No, it was sold on ebay. It was a really nice piece with some embryonic bones and some very nice skin impressions. It had a Buy It Now option and it sold before I could make up my mind. There is a really nice book on this topic, Walking On Eggs by Luis M Chiappe and Lowell Dingus. Have you read it?

[-Andy-]

Great paper thanks. I'm still hung up with the differences in your eggshells and I don't attribute that to normal variations within a clutch or egg nesting area so I did some digging.

I always thought titanosaur eggs were 7"(17-18cm) in diameter but when I read your paper it said the eggs from that locality were 12-15cm. So I looked at another paper which I attached and wow eggs vary in size and thickness depending on site. Auca Mahuevo eggs were considered small. If you look at at the shape of your first egg it looks too big to fit into a 12-15cm diameter egg found at Auca Mahuevo. Check it out and try to determine diameter. Also measure the thickness and compare it to the table in the paper.

Your paper also said that the surface ornamentation of the shell looks like rounded tubercles which closer fits your second egg but not the first.

My conclusion, if the diameter of your first egg is from a large egg, is that they are from two different localities and species. The first egg is probably from the Allen Formation which has larger eggs.

Saur eggs.pdf

Great article.

What you said makes sense. Egg B in my picture is completely flat, so I can't judge the curvature of the size of the whole egg, but Egg 3(which was the first egg I posted) retains the curvature of a huge egg; it is unlikely to belong to a 12-15cm diameter egg.

No, it was sold on ebay. It was a really nice piece with some embryonic bones and some very nice skin impressions. It had a Buy It Now option and it sold before I could make up my mind. There is a really nice book on this topic, Walking On Eggs by Luis M Chiappe and Lowell Dingus. Have you read it?

Sorry to hear that. I know Extinctions had eggs with supposed embryonic bones a long time ago too. In fact, these 3 eggs of mine are said to "have a chance to have baby dinosaur material" though I'm not hopeful on that(and I haven't seen anything on them that indicates so).

Nope. I'm headed to a giant bookstore sometime next month, will be looking for Dr. Carpenter's 'Eggs, Nests and Baby Dinosaurs', but I'll see if that book shows up too.

[-Andy-]

Shell thickness average comparison (inaccurate due to my lack of measure equipment for this task; there is an obvious difference between them however going by eye)
Egg A - 1.5 mm

Egg B - 1.6 mm

Egg C - 1.1 mm

(This picture shows the sides of the eggs with the most eggshell exposure)

[-Andy-]

Side view showing the difference thickness.

[Troodon]

I'm headed to a giant bookstore sometime next month, will be looking for Dr. Carpenter's 'Eggs, Nests and Baby Dinosaurs', but I'll see if that book shows up too.

The book is full of facts but there is nothing better to learn about a specific region than technical papers like the two we presented in these posts. I learned a bunch about eggs from Argentina, thanks for posting your eggshell.

In the end, your C egg seems to fit the characteristics of eggs found in the Allen Formation, locality of Salitral Moreno. Bottom line is that you have material from a slightly younger titanosaur.

[Troodon]

No, it was sold on ebay. It was a really nice piece with some embryonic bones and some very nice skin impressions. It had a Buy It Now option and it sold before I could make up my mind. There is a really nice book on this topic, Walking On Eggs by Luis M Chiappe and Lowell Dingus. Have you read it?

Oh that would have been a very nice pickup. Typical of what happens at the Tucson fossil show. Once you see something you have to decide immediately because if you go back at a later time it's history.

[Dracorex_hogwartsia]

Oh that would have been a very nice pickup. Typical of what happens at the Tucson fossil show. Once you see something you have to decide immediately because if you go back at a later time it's history.

You're exactly right! I remember having my hand on the Buy It Now button ready to push it but for some reason didn't. I left and came back later and it had sold! I have to say as a general rule, I am happy with the decisions I have made. I have made a few bad choices but on the whole I think most of my decisions have been good. I don't have a lot of regrets.

[-Andy-]

The book is full of facts but there is nothing better to learn about a specific region than technical papers like the two we presented in these posts. I learned a bunch about eggs from Argentina, thanks for posting your eggshell.

In the end, your C egg seems to fit the characteristics of eggs found in the Allen Formation, locality of Salitral Moreno. Bottom line is that you have material from a slightly younger titanosaur.

Thanks man for taking the time to study my egg.

I'll be doing more read-up on Allen Formation and related Argentina eggs to see how they compare to Egg C.

Oh that would have been a very nice pickup. Typical of what happens at the Tucson fossil show. Once you see something you have to decide immediately because if you go back at a later time it's history.

You're exactly right! I remember having my hand on the Buy It Now button ready to push it but for some reason didn't. I left and came back later and it had sold! I have to say as a general rule, I am happy with the decisions I have made. I have made a few bad choices but on the whole I think most of my decisions have been good. I don't have a lot of regrets.

I've made a few poor choices like that too.

Once was a whole Segnosaur egg nest on Ebay which I forgot to bid for; it sold for 1.6k USD!

Another was a 6.5+ inches Carch tooth in great shape at 850 pounds or something. I should've went straight for it.

[Troodon]

No problem, I enjoyed learning about these eggs. I'm quite unfamiliar with this region and eggs in general so if there is something you pick up as you read about the Allen Formation please pass it on.

[Runner64]

Thanks man for taking the time to study my egg.

I'll be doing more read-up on Allen Formation and related Argentina eggs to see how they compare to Egg C.

I've made a few poor choices like that too.

Once was a whole Segnosaur egg nest on Ebay which I forgot to bid for; it sold for 1.6k USD!

Another was a 6.5+ inches Carch tooth in great shape at 850 pounds or something. I should've went straight for it.

If you find a place to read about the Allen Formation, let me know where you're getting the info from!

[-Andy-]

A group of common Madagascar ammonites with uncommon iridescence.

Seabed mortality plate full of goniatites. Most likely from Zhongnin Formation of China

If you find a place to read about the Allen Formation, let me know where you're getting the info from!

Afraid I haven't really took the time to study Allen fm material. Will update you if I find more.

[Troodon]

Gotta love those ammonite with that amount of iridescence. Very cool and definitely uncommon.

[-Andy-]

Mosasaurus beaugei
70 - 66 mya
Ouled Abdoun, Morocco

Mosasaurus cf. hoffmani
70 - 66 mya
Ouled Abdoun, Morocco

Gotta love those ammonite with that amount of iridescence. Very cool and definitely uncommon.

Yep. I thought I was done with Cleoniceras... till I saw those bad boys!

[-Andy-]

A collection of shark teeth (I was too lazy to get the ID of... )

Box measures 2.3 inch by 3.1 inch

Lycoptera muroii
146 - 100 mya
Yixuan Formation, Liaoning
There's a smaller fish, and what looks like bugs or coprolites here too

[Troodon]

How big is that Mosasaurus cf. hoffmani crown?