Crackingopenthesecretsofdinosaureggs
Whatdoesittaketorestoreandrepairanestofancienteggs?
河源恐龙博物馆经3年成功修复11枚恐龙蛋化石
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IttooknearlythreeyearsforworkersatadinosaurmuseuminHeyuan,Guangdongprovince,torestoreanestof11dinosaureggsunearthednearalocalbridge.
“Everypieceofinformationaboutthedinosaureggsiswellrecorded,waitingforfutureuncovering,”HuangZhiqing,deputydirectorattheHeyuanDinosaurMuseum,toldChinaDaily.
Backin,thenestwasdiscoveredbyprimaryschoolstudentZhangYangzhewhilehewasplayingwithhismotherneartheDongjiangRiver.TheeggswerethenbroughttotheHeyuanDinosaurMuseum.Theeggswerefoundembedded(嵌在)inredsandstone.Someendedupbeingbrokenduringtheexcavation(挖掘工程)andrescueprocess,accordingtoHuang.
“Repairinganestofdinosaureggsrequirespatience,perseveranceandameticulous(一丝不苟的)approachbyworkers,”hesaid.Workershadtorelyontoolssuchashammers(锤子)andhigh-carbonsteelneedlestocarveandpolishtheeggsintheearlystagesofwork.Conditionswerelaterimprovedaftermoreadvancedtoolssuchasgeological(地质的)hammerswereintroduced.
“Likedentists,workersherewerecarvingandpolishingtheeggsinaverymeticulousway,slowlyexposingthefossils(化石)fromtheredsandstonebodyandgraduallypickingoutthehistoricalinformationofthedinosaurs,”hesaid.
Afterscientificidentification,thenestwasidentifiedas90millionyearsold,WangQiang,aresearcherattheChineseAcademyofSciences,toldChinaDaily.
Unlikefossilsusuallyfoundinsoftsoilelsewhere,dinosaureggsinHeyuanaremainlyfoundinrough(粗硬的)ground.“ItprovidesmorepossibilitiesforfutureresearchonthelivingenvironmentofdinosaursinHeyuan,andalsoreflectstheadaptabilityofthesedinosaurstotheenvironment,”Wangadded.
MoreabouttheHeyuanDinosaurMuseum
Therearenearly20,dinosaureggfossilsondisplayatthemuseum,collectedsincethefirstdinosaureggfossilwasdugupinHeyuanin.
InNovember,themuseumwontheGuinnessWorldRecordforkeeping10,dinosaureggs,thelargestnumberinacollectionaroundtheworld.