Ein 68 Millionen Jahre lang eingefrorenes riesiges Ei namens „Das Ding“, das in der Antarktis gefunden wurde, stellt die prähistorische Wissenschaft auf den Kopf: Das Ei wurde konserviert in der rauen Umgebung der Antarktis gefunden – ein unwahrscheinlicher Ort, um eine solch empfindliche Struktur zu finden. Aber sein Überleben eröffnet neue Möglichkeiten auf einem der Planeten

The original paper can be found here: [https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2377-7](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2377-7)

Unfortunately, it’s behind a paywall. However, the abstract is very informative.

It reports that researchers found a massive fossil egg in Late Cretaceous Antarctica (~68mya) that changes what we know about giant marine reptiles.

It’s actually the largest egg from that era (beating out all non-avian dinosaur eggs in volume) but it’s weirdly constructed. Unlike the hard, thick shells of dinosaurs or the extinct Elephant Bird, this egg is soft, thin, and was found collapsed and folded. It lacks pores and looks structurally identical to modern snake or lizard eggs.

Based on the size, they estimated the mother was at least 7 meters long, likely a Mosasaur. This is a significant discovery because we assumed these marine giants gave live birth. This fossil suggests they actually performed „vestigial egg-laying“ where a giant soft egg is laid and hatches almost immediately.