In the fall of 1997, Luis Chiappe, Lowell Dingus, and Rodolfo Coria found an

amazing concentration of sauropod eggs near Neuquen, in southern Argentina.

I was able to join the team for studies of the sedimentology and taphonomy of

the site in 1999 and 2000. For the full story, read the popular book, "Walking on

Eggs" by Chiappe and Dingus.

 

fragments of broken eggs litter large parts of the badlands

 

excavating a cluster of in situ eggs

Oddly, bones are rare at the site. This is part of a sauropod vertebral column.

Excavation of the carnivore Aucasaurus

gypsum sand crystals are abundant in fluvial sandstones and suggest an arid

paleoclimate

Eggs and bones are preserved in Upper Cretaceous fluvial mudstones.

rainstorm over the Patagonian badlands