Krokolithes

Last updated

Krokolithes
Temporal range: Tithonian-Oligocene
~150–23  Ma
Krokolithes dinophilus.PNG
Holotype of K. dinophilus
Egg fossil classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Basic shell type: Crocodiloid
Oofamily: Krokolithidae
Oogenus: Krokolithes
Hirsch, 1985

Krokolithes is an oogenus of Crocodiloid eggs. These eggs were laid by an extinct species of Crocodylian. It contains three oospecies: K. dinophilus, [1] K. wilsoni and K. helleri. [2] 1 Fossils of the oogenus have been found in the Oligocene of France, the Oldman and Dinosaur Park Formations of Alberta, Canada, the Campanian Two Medicine Formation of Montana, the Barremian Cabezo Gordo Member of the Blesa Formation of Spain, and the Kimmeridgian of the Lourinhã Formation of Portugal.

Related Research Articles

<i>Torvosaurus</i> Megalosaurid theropod dinosaur genus from Late Jurassic Period

Torvosaurus is a genus of carnivorous megalosaurid theropod dinosaur that lived approximately 165 to 148 million years ago during the late Middle and Late Jurassic period in what is now Colorado, Portugal, Germany, and possibly England, Tanzania, and Uruguay. It contains two currently recognized species, Torvosaurus tanneri and Torvosaurus gurneyi, plus a third species from Germany that is currently unnamed.

<i>Goniopholis</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

Goniopholis is an extinct genus of goniopholidid crocodyliform that lived in Europe and Africa during the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous. Being semi-aquatic it is very similar to modern crocodiles. It ranged from 2–4 metres in length, and would have had a very similar lifestyle to the American alligator or Nile crocodile.

Dracopelta is a monospecific genus of ankylosaur dinosaur from Portugal that lived during the Late Jurassic in what is now the Lourinhã Formation. The type and only species is Dracopelta zbyszewskii, which is represented by a partial skeleton including unpublished material.

<i>Dinheirosaurus</i> Genus of reptiles (fossil)

Dinheirosaurus is a genus of diplodocid sauropod dinosaur that is known from fossils uncovered in modern-day Portugal. It may represent a species of Supersaurus. The only species is Dinheirosaurus lourinhanensis, first described by José Bonaparte and Octávio Mateus in 1999 for vertebrae and some other material from the Lourinhã Formation. Although the precise age of the formation is not known, it can be dated around the early Tithonian of the Late Jurassic.

<i>Lourinhanosaurus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Lourinhanosaurus was a genus of carnivorous theropod dinosaur that lived during the Late Jurassic Period (Kimmeridgian/Tithonian) in Portugal. It is one of many large predators discovered at the Lourinhã Formation and probably competed with coeval Torvosaurus gurneyi, Allosaurus europaeus, and Ceratosaurus.

Lourinhã Formation

The Lourinhã Formation is a fossil rich geological formation in western Portugal, named for the municipality of Lourinhã. The formation is mostly Late Jurassic in age (Kimmeridgian/Tithonian), with the top of the formation extending into the earliest Cretaceous (Berriasian). It is notable for containing a fauna especially similar to that of the Morrison Formation in the United States and a lesser extent to the Tendaguru Formation in Tanzania. There are also similarities to the nearby Villar del Arzobispo Formation. The stratigraphy of the formation and the basin in general is complex and controversial, with the constituent member beds belonging to the formation varying between different authors.

Preprismatoolithus is a Late Jurassic oogenus. The species P. coloradensis is described by John Foster as being "of the prismatic basic type," with subspherical eggs about 10 cm (4 inches) in diameter. This oospecies has been initially attributed to "hypsilophodontid" dinosaurs, although a lack of associated embryo material currently makes confirming the egg-layer's identity impossible, but now is known to be theropod after the finding in Portugal, associated with the embryos.

<i>Elongatoolithus</i> Fossil dinosaur eggs

Elongatoolithus is an oogenus of dinosaur eggs found in the Late Cretaceous formations of China and Mongolia. Like other elongatoolithids, they were laid by small theropods, and were cared for and incubated by their parents until hatching. They are often found in nests arranged in multiple layers of concentric rings. As its name suggests, Elongatoolithus was a highly elongated form of egg. It is historically significant for being among the first fossil eggs given a parataxonomic name.

<i>Dendroolithus</i> Dinosaur egg

Dendroolithus is an oogenus of Dendroolithid dinosaur egg found in the late Cenomanian Chichengshan Formation, in the Gong-An-Zhai and Santonian Majiacun Formations of China and the Maastrichtian Nemegt and Campanian Barun Goyot Formation of Mongolia. They can be up to 162 mm long and 130 mm wide. These eggs may have been laid by a Therizinosaur, Sauropod, or Ornithopod. The oospecies "D." shangtangensis was originally classified as Dendroolithus, however, it has since been moved to its own distinct oogenus, Similifaveoloolithus. This oogenus is related with embryos of the theropod Torvosaurus

<i>Spheroolithus</i> Dinosaur egg

Spheroolithus is an oogenus of dinosaur egg.

<i>Macroelongatoolithus</i>

Macroelongatoolithus is an oogenus of large, fossil theropod eggs. They are known from Asia and from North America.

<i>Macroolithus</i> Dinosaur egg

Macroolithus is an oogenus of dinosaur egg belonging to the oofamily Elongatoolithidae. The type oospecies, M. rugustus, was originally described under the now-defunct oogenus name Oolithes. Three other oospecies are known: M. yaotunensis, M. mutabilis, and M. lashuyuanensis. They are relatively large, elongated eggs with a two-layered eggshell. Their nests consist of large, concentric rings of paired eggs. There is evidence of blue-green pigmentation in its shell, which may have helped camouflage the nests.

Phaceloolithus is an oogenus of dinosaur egg found in the Fenshui'ao Formation of the Dongting Basin of the Hunan Province of China. The eggs have a subspherical shape, measuring up to 168 mm on the long axis, and having a very thin shell.

Continuoolithus is an oogenus of dinosaur egg found in the late Cretaceous of North America. It is most commonly known from the late Campanian of Alberta and Montana, but specimens have also been found dating to the older Santonian and the younger Maastrichtian. It was laid by an unknown type of theropod. These small eggs are similar to the eggs of oviraptorid dinosaurs, but have a distinctive type of ornamentation.

Egg fossil Fossilized remains of eggs laid by ancient animals

Egg fossils are the fossilized remains of eggs laid by ancient animals. As evidence of the physiological processes of an animal, egg fossils are considered a type of trace fossil. Under rare circumstances a fossil egg may preserve the remains of the once-developing embryo inside, in which case it also contains body fossils. A wide variety of different animal groups laid eggs that are now preserved in the fossil record beginning in the Paleozoic. Examples include invertebrates like ammonoids as well as vertebrates like fishes, possible amphibians, and reptiles. The latter group includes the many dinosaur eggs that have been recovered from Mesozoic strata. Since the organism responsible for laying any given egg fossil is frequently unknown, scientists classify eggs using a parallel system of taxonomy separate from but modeled after the Linnaean system. This "parataxonomy" is called veterovata.

Krokolithidae is an oofamily of fossil crocodylomorph eggs. The oogenus Mycomorphoolithus is closely related to the family, but not included in it.

Coralloidoolithus is an oogenus of dinosaur egg from the Tiantai Basin in Zhejiang Province, containing a single known oospecies C. shizuiwanensis. Formerly, it was classified in the oogenus Paraspheroolithus; however, it was considered sufficiently different to be classified in its own genus. C. shizuiwanensis is similar to Stalicoolithus, leading to their classification in the same family, Stalicoolithidae.

Elongatoolithidae

Elongatoolithidae is an oofamily of fossil eggs, representing the eggs of oviraptorosaurs. They are known for their highly elongated shape. Elongatoolithids have been found in Europe, Asia, and both North and South America.

<i>Suchoolithus</i>

Suchoolithus is an oogenus of crocodylomorph eggs from the late Jurassic of Portugal. They are notable for their small size, and for being among the oldest known crocodylomorph eggs.

Nanhsiungoolithus is an oogenus of dinosaur egg from the late Cretaceous of China. It belongs to the oofamily Elongatoolithidae, which means that it was probably laid by an oviraptorosaur, though so far no skeletal remains have been discovered in association with Nanhsiungoolithus. The oogenus contains only a single described oospecies, N. chuetienensis. It is fairly rare, only being know from two partially preserved nests and a few eggshell fragments.

References

  1. Russo, João; Marzola, Marco; Mateus, Octávio; Balbino, A (8 March 2017). "Two new ootaxa from the late Jurassic: The oldest record of crocodylomorph eggs, from the Lourinhã Formation, Portugal". PLOS ONE. 12 (3): e0171919. Bibcode:2017PLoSO..1271919R. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0171919 . PMC   5342183 . PMID   28273086.
  2. Konstantin E. Mikhailov, Emily S. Bray & Karl E. Hirsch (1996). "Parataxonomy of fossil egg remains (Veterovata): basic principles and applications". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology . 16 (4): 763–769. doi:10.1080/02724634.1996.10011364. JSTOR   4523773.