(ORDO NEWS) — In 1883, an Indian stone containing agate was registered in the Mineralogical Collection of the Natural History Museum in London.
Only now have researchers discovered that the stone is actually a dinosaur egg over 60 million years old.
The specimen lay in London’s Natural History Museum for 140 years.
According to Gizmodo, museum curator Robin Hansen drew attention to the bright agate formed inside the stone.
It seemed to the man that the stone looked like a dinosaur egg, and he decided to consult with scientists.
Dinosaur experts from the Natural History Museum performed a CT scan of the specimen. However, the density of agate did not allow finer details to be highlighted.
On the other hand, the researchers confirmed that the outer texture of the mineral was similar to that of an egg.
Titanosaurus egg
The researchers also noted that the specimen found in India is approximately the correct shape and size of a dinosaur egg.
The team estimates that the egg is over 60 million years old – at the time, titanosaurs were the most common dinosaur species in India.
It is believed that titanosaurs, despite their enormous size, laid 30-40 eggs and did not take care of their offspring.
According to scientists, the egg was laid and buried in warm sand shortly before the volcanic eruption. Volcanic rock covered the nest and hardened.
Over time, the space inside the egg filled with silica-rich water, which eventually crystallized into a beautiful pink stone agate.
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