Lot 1480
Rare Troodon Dinosaur Egg Nest. Troodon was a small, fast predatory dinosaur about six feet long with slender limbs and the largest brain for its size. It was feathered with long folded arms like a bird and had large sharp retractable sickle-shaped claws on its second toe, much like Velociraptor. Troodon had very large eyes (perhaps nocturnal) and excellent hearing and binocular vision. It is very rare in the fossil record, but some embryos have been found in these eggs confirming that they are from Troodon.
This 11 x 9 inch partial nest of eight and one half eggs is 70-80 million years old and found at the Djadokta formation of Ukhaa Tolgod in Mongolia's Gobi Desert. A complete nest contained between 34-40 eggs laid in pairs. Troodon eggshell is extremely thin at only 1mm thickness and does not preserve well. Each egg is about 3 x 1.5 inches and has had the matrix on the shell professionally removed using small tools and a microscope revealing the textured ratite surface. These eggs are supposedly hatched, but the collapse of some of them and missing shell could also be because they are so fragile. Partial embryos have been found in eggs very similar to these. These delicate specimens were laid standing up in the sand and still retain that position in their original red stone matrix, as well as 30-50% of their original thin shell. This is perhaps a unique opportunity to add extremely rare dinosaur eggs to your collection.
Add $40.00 for domestic shipping.
Estimated Value $5,000 - 7,500.
|
| |
| Unsold |
