Oolithes | |
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Oolithes sphaericus | |
Egg fossil classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Oogenus: | † Oolithes Buckman, 1860 |
Oospecies | |
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Oolithes is an oogenus with uncertain affinities. It has historical significance because it was the earliest named oogenus. James Buckman described the first named species as Oolithes bathonicae in a communication to the 4 May 1859 meeting of the Geological Society (published in 1860). Buckman believed that Oolithes represented the eggs of a teleosaurian reptile. [1]
Since Buckman's description of O. bathonicae, two other oospecies have been named: O. nanhsiungensis and O. sphaericus, both of which were native to the Maastrichtian of China. [2] [3]