Porituberoolithus | |
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Egg fossil classification | |
Basic shell type: | Ornithoid |
Morphotype: | Ornithoid-ratite |
Oogenus: | † Porituberoolithus Zelenitsky, Hills & Currie, 1996 |
Oospecies | |
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Porituberoolithus is an oogenus of dinosaur egg found in the late Campanian Oldman Formation and Dinosaur Park Formation of Alberta, the Fossil Forest Member of the Fruitland Formation in New Mexico, the Upper Shale Member of the Aguja Formation in Texas and Cerro del Pueblo Formation (Difunta Group) of Mexico. It was originally described as distinct from the Elongatoolithids on the basis of its ornamentation, but it was listed as a member of that oofamily by Wang et al. 2010. [1] [2] It is very similar to Subtiliolithus , but has a thicker shell. [2]
Daspletosaurus is a genus of tyrannosaurid dinosaur that lived in Laramidia between about 79.5 and 74 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous Period. The genus Daspletosaurus contains two species. Fossils of the earlier type species, D. torosus, have been found in Alberta, while fossils of the later second species, D. horneri, have been found only in Montana. A possible third species, also from Alberta, awaits formal identification and another possible species D. degrootorum, also exists, but it may belong to the separate genus Thanatotheristes instead. Daspletosaurus is closely related to the much larger and more recent tyrannosaurid Tyrannosaurus rex. Like most tyrannosaurids, Daspletosaurus was a multi-tonne bipedal predator equipped with dozens of large, sharp teeth. Daspletosaurus had the small forelimbs typical of tyrannosaurids, although they were proportionately longer than in other genera.
The Oldman Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Late Cretaceous age that underlies much of southern Alberta, Canada. It consists primarily of sandstones that were deposited in fluvial channel and floodplain environments. It was named for exposures along the Oldman River between its confluence with the St. Mary River and the city of Lethbridge, and it is known primarily for its dinosaur remains and other fossils.
The Horseshoe Canyon Formation is a stratigraphic unit of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in southwestern Alberta. It takes its name from Horseshoe Canyon, an area of badlands near Drumheller.
Caenagnathidae is a family of bird-like maniraptoran theropod dinosaurs from the Cretaceous of North America and Asia. They are a member of the Oviraptorosauria, and close relatives of the Oviraptoridae. Like other oviraptorosaurs, caenagnathids had specialized beaks, long necks, and short tails, and would have been covered in feathers. The relationships of caenagnathids were long a puzzle. The family was originally named by Raymond Martin Sternberg in 1940 as a family of flightless birds. The discovery of skeletons of the related oviraptorids revealed that they were in fact non-avian theropods, and the discovery of more complete caenagnathid remains revealed that Chirostenotes pergracilis, originally named on the basis of a pair of hands, and Citipes elegans, originally thought to be an ornithomimid, named from a foot, were caenagnathids as well.
Centrosaurinae is a subfamily of ceratopsid dinosaurs, a group of large quadrupedal ornithischians. Centrosaurine fossil remains are known primarily from the northern region of Laramidia but isolated taxa have been found in China and Utah as well.
The Foremost Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Late Cretaceous (Campanian) age that underlies much of southern Alberta, Canada. It was named for outcrops in Chin Coulee near the town of Foremost and is known primarily for its dinosaur remains and other fossils.
The Willow Creek Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Late Cretaceous to Early Paleocene age in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin of southwestern Alberta. It was first described by George Mercer Dawson in 1883 along the Willow Creek, a tributary of the Oldman River. Williams and Dyer defined the type section in 1930 at the mouth of Willow Creek, east of Fort Macleod.
Dictyoolithus is an oogenus of dinosaur egg from the Cretaceous of China. It is notable for having over five superimposed layers of eggshell units. Possibly, it was laid by megalosauroid dinosaurs.
Ovaloolithus is an oogenus of dinosaur egg. Eggs of the genus have been found in China, Mongolia and Utah.
Spheroolithus is an oogenus of dinosaur egg.
Macroelongatoolithus is an oogenus of large, fossil theropod eggs. They are known from Asia and from North America.
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.
Dispersituberoolithus is an oogenus of fossil egg, which may have been laid by a bird or non-avian theropod.
Tristraguloolithus is an oogenus of dinosaur egg from the late Campanian of Alberta.
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.
Paraelongatoolithus is a late Cretaceous oogenus of Chinese fossil egg, classified in the oofamily Elongatoolithidae, which represents the eggs of oviraptorosaurs.
Stalicoolithus is an oogenus of dinosaur egg from the Sanshui and Chichengshan Formations of the Tiantai Basin in Zhejiang Province. It is known from a single, complete fossil egg, notable for its spherical shape.
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 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.
Dictyoolithidae is an oofamily of dinosaur eggs which have a distinctive reticulate organization of their eggshell units. They are so far known only from Cretaceous formations in China.