Developments in Brief : Fossil Eggshells May Be Those of Dinosaur
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Fossil eggshells found on federal land in southwestern Colorado have been confirmed as the oldest in North America, and the black egg fragments may be the oldest dinosaur eggshells in the world, fossil experts said last week.
Karl Hirsch of the University of Colorado said the fragments have been dated to more than 145 million years ago, which is the very beginning of the Jurassic Age, when dinosaurs are believed to have appeared.
Geologist Robert Young discovered the shells last August on Bureau of Land Management land in Delta County. According to Harley Armstrong, curator of Paleontology at Dinosaur Valley Museum in Grand Junction, the previous oldest fossil eggshell finds in North America--in Utah, Montana and Canada--date to about 80 million years ago.
Hirsch said the eggshells are believed to be part of a possible nesting area, and scientists still are looking for bones or embryos to confirm the type of eggs. The fragments are believed to be from eggs measuring 8 inches long and 3 1/2 inches in diameter.
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