Youngoolithus

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Youngoolithus
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous
Fossil Dinosaur Eggs- Youngoolithus xiagusnensis.jpg
Eggs in Henan Geological Museum
Egg fossil classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Basic shell type: Dinosauroid-spherulitic
Oofamily: Youngoolithidae
Zhang, 2010
Oogenus: Youngoolithus
Zhao, 1979
Oospecies
  • Youngoolithus xiaguanensis

Youngoolithus is an oogenus of dinosaur egg. [1] It is the sole member of the oofamily Youngoolithidae, and consists of a single oospecies: Youngoolithus xiaguanensis. It consists of a single fossil nest of 16 eggs with an associated dinosaur footprint that was first discovered in 1975 in the Majiacun Formation near Houzhuang Village, Henan Province, in the Cretaceous Xiaguan Basin. The eggs are smooth, olive-shaped, and arranged in five rows. It was originally described as being a Faveoloolithid egg, however the nest is arranged quite differently than other members of that family, so it has been moved to its own oofamily, Youngoolithidae. [2] [3]

Related Research Articles

<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.

Majiacun Formation Late Cretaceous formation in China

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<i>Dendroolithus</i> Dinosaur egg

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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.

Stromatoolithus is an oogenus of dinosaur egg. The oogenus contains one oospecies, S. pinglingensis.

<i>Faveoloolithus</i> Dinosaur egg

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Sphaerovum is an oogenus of dinosaur egg that has only been discovered in South America.

Ovaloolithus is an oogenus of dinosaur egg. Eggs of the genus have been found in China, Mongolia and Utah.

Shixingoolithus is an oogenus of dinosaur egg from the Cretaceous of Nanxiong, China.

<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.

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 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. It is very similar to Subtiliolithus, but has a thicker shell.

Egg fossil

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.

Similifaveoloolithus is an oogenus of fossil dinosaur egg from the Tiantai basin in Zhejiang Province, China. It is the sole known oospecies of the oofamily Similifaveoloolithidae.

Hemifaveoloolithus is an oogenus of fossil dinosaur egg from the Tiantai basin in Zhejiang Province, China. It is a faveoloolithid, having spherical eggs roughly 13 cm in diameter. The shell is distinctive for being composed of four or five superimposed layers of shell units, and the honeycomb-like arrangement of pore canals.

Parafaveoloolithus is an oogenus of Faveoloolithid fossil egg, known from the Cretaceous of China.

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.

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.

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. Carpenter, K. 1999. Eggs, Nests, and Baby Dinosaurs: A Look at Dinosaur Reproduction (Life of the Past). Indiana University Press, Bloomington, Indiana.
  2. Zhang, S. K. (2010). "A parataxonomic revision of the Cretaceous faveoloolithid eggs of China" (PDF). Vertebrata PalAsiatica. 48 (3): 203–219. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  3. Zhao, Z. (1979). "Discovery of the dinosaurian eggs and footprint from Neixiang county, Henan province" (PDF). Vertebrata PalAsiatica. 17 (4): 304–309. Retrieved 3 October 2015.