Jump to content

User:Ashorocetus/sandbox/Paradendroolithus

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ashorocetus/sandbox/Paradendroolithus
Temporal range: Santonian-Campanian
Egg fossil classification Edit this classification
Basic shell type: Dinosauroid-spherulitic
Oofamily: Dendroolithidae
Oogenus: Paradendroolithus
Type oospecies
Paradendroolithus qinglongshanensis
Oospecies
  • P. qinglongshanensis

Paradendroolithus is an oogenus of dendroolithid dinosaur egg native to China.[1]

Description

[edit]

Paradendroolithus eggs are large, measuring 15 cm (5.9 in) in length by 13.5–14.5 cm (5.3–5.7 in) in width. They have a distinctive shape, with one end pointed, similar modern bird eggs. The eggshell is relatively thick (2.30–2.38 mm (0.091–0.094 in)), and, like typical dendroolithids, is made up of tree-like, branching units. About 1/7 of the eggshell thickness is the mammillary layer.[1]

Paleobiology

[edit]

The shape of the nest in Paradendroolithus is unknown, and no skeletal remains or embryos have been associated with the eggs.[1]

Distribution and Paleoecology

[edit]

P. qinglongshanensis eggs are found on the North slope of Qinglong Mountain (where the oospecies gets its name), a part of the Gaogou Formation. The same location also has fossil eggs belonging to Dictyoolithus, Dendroolithus, Faveoloolithus, Paraspheroolithus, and Prismatoolithus, apparently a similar assemblage to the Mongolian Djadokhta Formation.[1]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d Zhou, Xiugao; Ren, Youfu; Xu, Shiqiu; Guan, Kangnian (1998). "Dinosaur eggs of the Late Cretaceous from Qinglongshan region, Yunxian County, Hubei Province". Hubei Geology & Mineral Resources. 12 (3): 1–8.