Giant Dinosaur Egg

[Crazyhen]

This is a giant egg from Xixia, Henan.  It is 40cm long and 15cm wide.  It is said that there is some restoration (the dark colored area).  What is your view on its authenticity? Thanks!

[aeon.rocks]

On a quick glance it looks like a composite, mosaic egg - fake...?

[RJB]

 It really does look like its been pieced together from eggshell pieces.

 

RB

[Seguidora-de-Isis]

I agree with everyone. It looks like a large mosaic composed of egg shells glued without any kind of responsibility. 

 

Stay away from this, my dear friend Crazyhen.

[LordTrilobite]

Real eggs don't get much larger than football size, even for the largest of dinosaurs.

[Alex Pritchard]

Real eggs didn't get too large, as the larger the egg, the thicker the shell. So in the simplest terms, a large egg means  less oxygen could get in and dinosaurs couldn't break out if it was too thick.

[Crazyhen]

Giant eggs are rare but it does seem to exist.  According to literature, "Macrooelongatoolithus eggs are most notable for their large size. They are at least 34 centimetres (13 in) long by 11 centimetres (4.3 in), but the largest specimens are over 60 centimetres (24 in) long.They are also very elongated, usually roughly three times longer than they are wide. They are often found in large clutches of up to 26 eggs, with the eggs forming a ring 2–3.3 metres (6.6–10.8 ft) in diameter. The shell is typically between 1.38 mm and 4.75 mm thick.".  The photos I shown were claimed to be a Macrooelongatoolithus xixiaensis, though I am not sure about its authenticity.

[Seguidora-de-Isis]

59 minutes ago, Crazyhen said:

Giant eggs are rare but it does seem to exist.  According to literature, "Macrooelongatoolithus eggs are most notable for their large size. They are at least 34 centimetres (13 in) long by 11 centimetres (4.3 in), but the largest specimens are over 60 centimetres (24 in) long.They are also very elongated, usually roughly three times longer than they are wide. They are often found in large clutches of up to 26 eggs, with the eggs forming a ring 2–3.3 metres (6.6–10.8 ft) in diameter. The shell is typically between 1.38 mm and 4.75 mm thick.".  The photos I shown were claimed to be a Macrooelongatoolithus xixiaensis, though I am not sure about its authenticity.

 

I agree, there are rather larger dinosaur eggs than a football! As of the year 1999, these eggs Macrooelongatoolithus were sold on our favorite auction site, and were advertised as being "Tarbosaurus Egg". The problem is that these eggs are very rare, but in my opinion, someday we can definitely prove that they are eggs of Tyrannosaurids.

 

 

[HamptonsDoc]

I’ve seen a few of this type of egg and they are big! Some have pores like the smaller Oviraptor and others have strange dimples on them. I’ve seen 18” long eggs that are authentic and have heard of ones up to the low-20-something inches. As far as the eggs in the original post I’m not sure as I can’t see the shell detail too well. 

 

Round dino eggs max out around 9” diameter as is true for Argentinian titanosaur eggs (Saltasaurus is 7” diameter). Larger than that the shell needs to be too thick and prevents gas exchange as Alex mentioned above. I think the elongated theropod eggs can reach a larger length because the width is still relatively narrow and can support a thinner shell.