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My first North American dinosaur egg


-Andy-

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Some of you may know me to be an avid dinosaur-egg collector. Sadly, most eggs these days come only from China or European countries. Recently, I was lucky enough to acquire a North American dinosaur egg - A Maiasaura peeblesorum egg from Browning, Montana.

 

This hatched egg dates to the late Cretaceous, and is inflated unlike other eggs from that area.

 

Maiasaura is the very picture of motherly dinosaurs and nesting behavior; this egg is thus one of my favorite fossils.

 

Maiasaura_1.jpgMaiasaura_2.jpgMaiasaura 3.jpg

 

 

Looking forward to meeting my fellow Singaporean collectors! Do PM me if you are a Singaporean, or an overseas fossil-collector coming here for a holiday!

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Nice acquisition.  I suspect/hope it is not actually from Egg Mountain.  In my opinion, this is another one of those things a seller will say to aid the sale.  Egg Mountain is a famous egg site and is a very small place on private land.  The owners support scientific collections and do not allow commercial collecting.  There are other sites int he Two Med formation where commercial operators are working, and I suspect this is from one of these.  I hate to think the actual Egg Mountain is getting looted.  

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Egg Mountain actually has the nests and eggs of Troodon, not Maiasaura. Maiasaura nests are found at other sites in the area. The Egg Mountain area is owned by the Museum of the Rockies, but there are other private landowners around Choteau that might have eggs.

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7 hours ago, jpc said:

Nice acquisition.  I suspect/hope it is not actually from Egg Mountain.  In my opinion, this is another one of those things a seller will say to aid the sale.  Egg Mountain is a famous egg site and is a very small place on private land.  The owners support scientific collections and do not allow commercial collecting.  There are other sites int he Two Med formation where commercial operators are working, and I suspect this is from one of these.  I hate to think the actual Egg Mountain is getting looted.  

 

Thanks jpc! Yikes I didn't know this. Hope mine isn't a raided egg, and the Egg Mountain locality is just a marketing tactic.

 

5 hours ago, HamptonsDoc said:

Very nice Andy! Congratulations, these are not easy to find for purchase! 

 

Thanks man. Yeah I didn't expect to get it either. Was immensely lucky.

 

25 minutes ago, Opisthotriton said:

Egg Mountain actually has the nests and eggs of Troodon, not Maiasaura. Maiasaura nests are found at other sites in the area. The Egg Mountain area is owned by the Museum of the Rockies, but there are other private landowners around Choteau that might have eggs.

 

Thanks for the info. Hope mine isn't a raided egg from Egg Mountain then.

Looking forward to meeting my fellow Singaporean collectors! Do PM me if you are a Singaporean, or an overseas fossil-collector coming here for a holiday!

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I imagine it is more likely from a different area with the Egg Mtn name tacked on.  But hey, what would happen if you asked the seller,now that you know these interesting facts.  

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4 hours ago, jpc said:

I imagine it is more likely from a different area with the Egg Mtn name tacked on.  But hey, what would happen if you asked the seller,now that you know these interesting facts.  

 

Thanks jpc, I just confirmed that the egg is not from Egg Mountain, but from Browning of Montana. I mistook the seller's message; he was saying I should refer to Egg Mountain to see comparisons between the commonly documented North American eggs and his.

Looking forward to meeting my fellow Singaporean collectors! Do PM me if you are a Singaporean, or an overseas fossil-collector coming here for a holiday!

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6 hours ago, Opisthotriton said:

Egg Mountain actually has the nests and eggs of Troodon, not Maiasaura. Maiasaura nests are found at other sites in the area. The Egg Mountain area is owned by the Museum of the Rockies, but there are other private landowners around Choteau that might have eggs.

It was owned by The Nature Conservancy when I worked there in 1997.  Did the MOR buy it?

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15 hours ago, jpc said:

It was owned by The Nature Conservancy when I worked there in 1997.  Did the MOR buy it?

 

The Nature Conservancy sold it to the Museum of the Rockies in 2005. There is still a conservation easement, so the land can't be developed. Good for wildlife and fossils. Still used for cattle grazing, though.

 

http://helenair.com/news/state-and-regional/nature-conservancy-sells-dino-dig-site-to-museum-of-the/article_c19fe8af-3d48-5280-a44e-ec242ebf16b0.html

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