AMIOT, R., WANG, X., WANG, S., LéCUYER, C., MAZIN, J., MO, J., FLANDROIS, J., FOUREL, F., WANG, X., XU, X., ZHANG, Z., ZHOU, Z. 2017. δ18O‐derived incubation temperatures of oviraptorosaur eggs. Palaeontology, 60, 5, 633-647. DOI: 10.1111/pala.12311
Romain Amiot, Xu Wang, Shuo Wang, Christophe Lécuyer, Jean‐Michel Mazin, Jinyou Mo, Jean‐Pierre Flandrois, François Fourel, Xiaolin Wang, Xing Xu, Zhijun Zhang, and Zhonghe Zhou- Romain Amiot - CNRS UMR 5276 LGL‐TPE Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 Villeurbanne Cedex France (Email: romain.amiot@univ-lyon1.fr)
- Xu Wang - Key Laboratory of Cenozoic Geology & Environment Institute of Geology & Geophysics Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing 100029 China (Email: xuking@mail.iggcas.ac.cn)
- Shuo Wang - College of Life Sciences Capital Normal University Beijing China (Email: uslarky@163.com)
- Christophe Lécuyer - CNRS UMR 5276 LGL‐TPE Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 Villeurbanne Cedex France (Email: christophe.lecuyer@univ-lyon1.fr)
- Christophe Lécuyer - Institut Universitaire de France
- Jean‐Michel Mazin - CNRS UMR 5276 LGL‐TPE Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 Villeurbanne Cedex France (Email: jm.mazin@plageauxpterosaures.fr)
- Jinyou Mo - Natural History Museum of Guangxi Nanning China (Email: mjy66925@163.com)
- Jean‐Pierre Flandrois - CNRS UMR5558 Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Évolutive Univ Lyon, Université Lyon 1 Villeurbanne France (Email: jean-pierre.flandrois@univ-lyon1.fr)
- François Fourel - CNRS UMR 5023 LEHNA Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 Villeurbanne Cedex France (Email: francois.fourel@univ-lyon1.fr)
- Xiaolin Wang - Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution & Human Origins Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology & Paleoanthropology Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China (Email: wangxiaolin@ivpp.ac.cn)
- Xiaolin Wang - University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
- Xing Xu - Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution & Human Origins Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology & Paleoanthropology Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China (Email: xu.xing@ivpp.ac.cn)
- Zhijun Zhang - Department of Palaeontology Geological Museum of China Beijing China (Email: zhjzhgmc@163.com)
- Zhonghe Zhou - Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution & Human Origins Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology & Paleoanthropology Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China (Email: zhonghe@yeah.net)
- Issue published online: 08 August 2017
- Manuscript Accepted: 20 May 2017
- Manuscript Received: 09 March 2017
In order to determine the incubation temperature of eggs laid by non‐avian dinosaurs, we analysed the oxygen isotope compositions of both eggshell carbonate (δ18Oc) and embryo bone phosphate (δ18Op) from seven oviraptorosaur eggs with preserved in ovo embryo bones. These eggs come from the Upper Cretaceous Nanxiong Formation of Jiangxi Province, China. Oviraptorosaur theropods were selected because of their known brooding behaviour as evidenced by preserved adult specimens fossilized in brooding posture on their clutch. Incubation temperature of these embryos was estimated based on the following considerations: eggshell δ18Oc value reflects the oxygen isotope composition of egg water fluid; embryo bones precipitate from the same egg fluid; and oxygen isotope fractionation between phosphate and water is controlled by the egg temperature. A time‐dependent model predicting the δ18Op evolution of the embryo skeleton during incubation as a function of egg temperature was built, and measured δ18Oc and δ18Op values used as boundary conditions. According to the model outputs, oviraptorosaurs incubated their eggs within a 35–40°C range, similar to extant birds and compatible with the known active brooding behaviour of these theropod dinosaurs. Provided that both eggshell and embryo bones preserved their original oxygen isotope compositions, this method could be extended to investigate some reproductive traits of other extinct groups of oviparous amniotes.
Data for this study are available in the Dryad Digital Repository https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.k14tt Wiley Online Library