School of Biological Science and Technology, University of Jinan, Jinan, 250022, China.
Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente, (INIBIOMA-CONICET), Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche (CRUB-UNCOMA), Quintral 1250, CP. 8400, San Carlos de Bariloche, Río Negro, Argentina.
Sci Rep. 2019 Feb 13;9(1):1944. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-36305-3.
A Late Cretaceous-aged multi-taxon nesting site from Romania preserved in three dimensions reveals the earliest example of nest site sharing yet known from the vertebrate fossil record. Eggshell and osteological evidence combined in this single accumulation demonstrate that at least four vertebrate taxa including enantiornithine birds and another avian of indeterminate affinities as well as crocodylomorphs and gekkotan squamates nested together in the same place. Colonial nesting in enantiornithines was previously described from this site; here, we present the first fossil evidence that other vertebrates also nested in the same place, perhaps exploiting the presence of the large bird colony. We describe four distinct eggshell morphotypes that have been collected from this site and draw palaeoecological inferences based on this unique multi-taxon nesting association.
一个来自罗马尼亚的白垩纪晚期多分类群筑巢遗址以三维形式保存下来，揭示了脊椎动物化石记录中最早的巢位共享实例。蛋壳和骨骼证据在这个单一的堆积物中结合在一起，证明了至少有四个脊椎动物分类群，包括手盗龙类鸟类和另一种未确定亲缘关系的鸟类，以及鳄形超目和有鳞目爬行动物，在同一个地方筑巢。这个遗址以前曾描述过手盗龙类的群居筑巢；在这里，我们首次提供了化石证据，证明其他脊椎动物也在同一个地方筑巢，也许是利用了大型鸟类群体的存在。我们描述了从这个遗址收集到的四种不同的蛋壳形态类型，并基于这种独特的多分类群筑巢关联进行了古生态学推断。
