Auca Mahuevo facts for kids
Auca Mahuevo is an amazing fossil site in Argentina. It is located in the Neuquén area of Patagonia. This place is known for its "badlands," which are dry, rocky areas shaped by wind and water.
Auca Mahuevo is special because it is a Cretaceous "lagerstätte." This means it is a place where many fossils are found in excellent condition. These fossils are from the Cretaceous period, which was about 83.5 to 79.5 million years ago. The rocks here show us a fossilized "hatchery" for titanosaurid sauropod dinosaurs. A hatchery is a place where many eggs hatch. Titanosaurid sauropods were huge, long-necked dinosaurs.
Discovering Dinosaur Eggs
At Auca Mahuevo, scientists found something truly spectacular. They discovered dinosaur eggs that still had parts of the baby dinosaurs inside! These eggs even kept the shape of the inner membrane, which is like the thin skin you see inside a hard-boiled egg.
Scientists also found many fossilized nests. These nests were like a huge dinosaur "rookery," which is a place where many animals gather to lay eggs. It was similar to how modern turtles, crocodiles, and birds lay their eggs.
They could even figure out how far apart the nests were. Each nest was about two to three meters (6 to 10 feet) from the next one. This helped scientists understand how these giant dinosaurs nested. They think the dinosaurs dug shallow pits with raised edges. Then, they might have added plant material to the nests.
How Auca Mahuevo Was Found
The amazing fossil site of Auca Mahuevo was discovered during two trips. These trips happened in 1997 and 1999. The scientists who found it were Luis Chiappe, Lowell Dingus, and Rodolfo Coria. They were actually looking for fossilized birds when they stumbled upon the dinosaur eggs.
Today, the Auca Mahuevo site is officially protected. This helps to keep these important fossils safe for future study and discovery.
See Also
In Spanish: Auca Mahuevo para niños
- List of fossil sites (with link directory)
- Neuquén Group
