Heishanoolithus
| Heishanoolithus Temporal range: Early Cretaceous PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N | |
|---|---|
Egg fossil classification  | |
| Basic shell type: | Ornithoid |
| Morphotype: | Ornithoid-ratite |
| Oofamily: | †Elongatoolithidae |
| Oogenus: | †Heishanoolithus Zhao and Zhao, 1999 |
| Oospecies | |
| |
Heishanoolithus is an oogenus of Elongatoolithid fossil egg from the Shahai Formation in Liaoning. It is known only from seven eggshell fragments. It is most notable for having a very thin eggshell (1.2-1.3 mm thick), the dense covering of nodes on the eggshell surface, and for its relatively thin mammilary layer (making up only one eighth of the eggshell thickness).[1] While no remains of Heishanoolithus have been associated with skeletal remains, strong evidence links Elongatoolithid eggs to Oviraptorosaurs.[2]
References
- ^ Zhao H. and Zhao Z. (1999) "A New Form of Elongatoolithid Dinosaur Eggs from the Lower Cretaceous Shahai Formation of Heishan, Liaoning Province." Vertebrata PalAsiatica, 37(4): 278-284.
- ^ Simon, D. J. (2014). "Giant Dinosaur (theropod) Eggs of the Oogenus Macroelongatoolithus (Elongatoolithidae) from Southeastern Idaho: Taxonomic, Paleobiogeographic, and Reproductive Implications." (Doctoral dissertation, Montana State University, Bozeman).
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