135767 20260217205546.0 doi 10.1016/j.gsf.2024.101872 sideral 138808 ART-2024-138808 eng Ezquerro, L. (orcid)0000-0003-0900-1440 Large dinosaur egg accumulations and their significance for understanding nesting behaviour 2024 Access copy available to the general public Unrestricted The accurate identification of dinosaur egg accumulations as nests or clutches is crucial for understanding the reproductive behaviour of these extinct species. However, existing methods often rely on the presence of complete eggs and embryo remains, and sedimentological criteria that are only applicable to well-structured sediments. In this study, we introduce an innovative approach to characterize egg accumulations in structureless sediments, where traditional nest structures may not be preserved. Our methodology employs a unique combination of sedimentological, taphonomic, geochemical, and geophysical proxies for the study of egg accumulations. We applied this approach to the egg accumulation from Paimogo (Jurassic, Portugal), traditionally interpreted as a nest. Our findings reveal that the Paimogo egg assemblage is a secondary deposit, resulting from a flooding event in a fluvial plain that dismantled several allosauroid and crocodylomorph clutches. The eggshell vapor conductance results, coupled with sedimentological evidence, suggest that allosauroid dinosaurs buried their eggs in the dry terrain of overbank areas close to a main channel during the breeding season, likely during the dry season to prevent the embryos from drowning. This research underscores the necessity of multidisciplinary approaches in interpreting egg accumulations and offers a novel methodology for studying these accumulations in structureless sediments. Our findings provide new insights into the breeding behaviour and nesting preferences of these extinct organisms, contributing to our understanding of dinosaur ecology. info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MICINN/FJCI-2020-044561-I info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MICINN/PLEC2021-008203/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MICINN/RYC2021-034473-I info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess by-nc-nd https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/deed.es 8.9 2024 GEOSCIENCES, MULTIDISCIPLINARY 8 / 258 = 0.031 2024 Q1 T1 2.111 2024 Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous) 2024 Q1 22.1 2024 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Coimbra, R. Bauluz, B. Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0002-4970-6333 Núñez-Lahuerta, C. (orcid)0000-0002-2882-6061 Román-Berdiel, T. Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0002-9743-8695 Moreno-Azanza, M. Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0002-7210-1033 2000 655 Universidad de Zaragoza Dpto. Ciencias de la Tierra Área Paleontología 2000 428 Universidad de Zaragoza Dpto. Ciencias de la Tierra Área Geodinámica Interna 2000 120 Universidad de Zaragoza Dpto. Ciencias de la Tierra Área Cristalografía Mineralog. 15, 5 (2024), 101872 [22 pp.] Geosci. Front. Geoscience Frontiers 1674-9871 14160186 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/135767/files/texto_completo.pdf Versión publicada 2812241 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/135767/files/texto_completo.jpg?subformat=icon icon Versión publicada oai:zaguan.unizar.es:135767 articulos driver 2026-02-17-20:38:29 ARTICLE