Dinosaur eggs unearthed in Chinese city with history of the giant reptiles
Construction crew stumbles on fossilised nest identified as belonging to the Cretaceous period
More than a dozen fossilised dinosaur eggs have been discovered at a construction site in the eastern province of Zhejiang, an area with a history of unearthing relics of the ancient reptiles.
According to local newspaper Zhezhong News, the giant eggs were uncovered when a construction crew was digging around in the city of Yiwu on Thursday.
The eggs were sent to the Zhejiang Museum of Natural History on Friday where geologist Du Tianming said they dated from the Cretaceous period, between 145.5 million to 66 million years ago.
“We have found 15 intact dinosaur eggs so far,” said Du.
The Cretaceous period followed the Jurassic period, which most people think of as the age of the dinosaurs. In fact most animals and plants which lived in the Cretaceous period – including dinosaurs – went extinct, after which mammals began to rule the world.
Yiwu is famous as a manufacturing and exporting hub for wholesale merchandise such as socks or plastic flowers, but it is also capitalising on its association with dinosaurs.
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Last year a dinosaur-themed water park opened in Yiwu and another one is currently under construction at Guanyintang, the part of Yiwu where, coincidentally, the latest clutch of dinosaur eggs was discovered.
Since dinosaur eggs were first discovered in the area in 1993, scientists have found more than 100 in Yiwu, according to the local authorities. Footprints of the reptiles were also found in the area last year.
