Research paper

Reconstruction of the internal structure of the pore system of a complex dinosaur eggshell (Megaloolithus siruguei)


DIEGO RASSKIN-GUTMAN
Theoretical Biology Research Group, Institute Cavanilles for Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, University of Valencia, Apdo. 22085, 46071 Valencia, Spain. diego.rasskin@uv.es
Corresponding author

JAVIER ELEZ
Department of Paleontology, Faculty of Geology, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040-Madrid, Spain. Javier.elez@geo.ucm.es

BORJA ESTEVE-ALTAVA
Theoretical Biology Research Group, Institute Cavanilles for Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, University of Valencia, Apdo. 22085, 46071 Valencia, Spain. boresal@gmail.com

NIEVES LÓPEZ-MARTÍNEZ
Department of Paleontology, Faculty of Geology, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040-Madrid, Spain. lopezmar@geo.ucm.es


ABSTRACT

Despite the many reconstructions of fossil material that have recently appeared in the literature, dinosaur eggshells have never been reconstructed using computing techniques. Using the EMAC 3-D modelling methodology, we reconstruct a section of the Late Cretaceous Megaloolithus siruguei eggshell, which has a particularly complex pore system, exhibiting an intricate network of vertical, oblique, and horizontal pores.


Keywords: Dinosaur eggshell, 3-D reconstruction, palaeoclimate.

How to cite:  Rasskin-Gutman, D., Elez, J., Esteve-Altava, B. & López-Martínez, N. 2013. Reconstruction of the internal structure of the pore system of a complex dinosaur eggshell (Megaloolithus siruguei). Spanish Journal of Palaeontology, 28 (1), 61-68.

Received 04 April 2012, Accepted 01 October 2012, Published 30 June 2013

https://doi.org/10.7203/sjp.28.1.17831