''Spheroolithus'' is an
oogenus
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
dinosaur egg
Dinosaur eggs are the organic vessels in which a dinosaurs, dinosaur embryo develops. When the first scientifically documented remains of non-avian dinosaurs were being described in England during the 1820s, it was presumed that dinosaurs had la ...
.
[Wang Q, Wang X L, Zhao Z K, and Jiang Y G. (2012).]
A new oofamily of dinosaur egg from the Upper Cretaceous of Tiantai Basin, Zhejiang Province, and its mechanism of eggshell formation
Chinese Science Bulletin
''Science Bulletin'' (shortened as ''Sci. Bull.'') is a semi-monthly peer-reviewed international journal sponsored by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the National Natural Science Foundation of China. Published by Elsevier on behalf of Science ...
. 57: 3740-3747. doi: 10.1007/s11434-012-5353-2
Oospecies
The following species are described:
[''Spheroolithus'']
in the Paleobiology Database
The Paleobiology Database (PBDB) is an online resource for information on the distribution and classification of fossil animals, plants, and microorganisms.
History
The Paleobiology Database originated in the NCEAS-funded Phanerozoic Marine Pale ...
* ''Paraspheroolithus sanwangbacunensis''
* ''Paraspheroolithus yangchengensis''
* ''Spheroolithus albertensis''
* ''Spheroolithus choteauensis''
* ''Spheroolithus europaeus''
* ''Spheroolithus irenensis''
* ''Spheroolithus jincunensis''
* ''Spheroolithus maiasauroides''
* ''Spheroolithus megadermus''
* ''Spheroolithus spheroides''
* ''Spheroolithus tenuicorticus''
Distribution
Fossils of the oogenus were found in:
[
* Dinosaur Park and ]Oldman Formation
The Oldman Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Late Cretaceous (Campanian stage) age that underlies much of southern Alberta, Canada. It consists primarily of sandstones that were deposited in fluvial channel and floodplain environments. It was ...
s, Alberta, Canada
* China
* Sasayama Group, Japan
* Cerro del Pueblo Formation ( Difunta Group), Mexico
* Nemegt & Bayan Shireh Formation
The Bayanshiree Formation (also known as Baynshiree/Baynshire, Baynshirenskaya Svita, Baysheen Shireh, or Bayan Shireh) is a geological formation in Mongolia, that dates to the Cretaceous period. It was first described and established by Vasilie ...
s, Mongolia
* La Posa Formation ( Tremp Group), Spain
* Two Medicine Formation
The Two Medicine Formation is a geological formation, or rock body, in northwestern Montana and southern Alberta that was deposited between 82.4 Ma and 74.4 Ma, during Campanian (Late Cretaceous) time. It crops out to the east of the Rocky Mountai ...
, Montana and North Horn Formation
The North Horn Formation is a widespread non-marine sedimentary unit with extensive outcrops exposed in central and eastern Utah. The formation locally exceeds in thickness and is characterized by fluvial, Lacustrine plain, lacustrine, and floo ...
, Utah, United States
* Lameta Formation
The Lameta Formation, also known as the Infratrappean Beds (not to be confused with the contemporaneous Intertrappean Beds), is a sedimentary geological formation found in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh, Indi ...
, India
Gallery
Spheroolithidae.jpg, ''Spheroolithus'' sp. eggs
Fossil Dinosaur Eggs- Paraspheroolithus sp.jpg, ''Paraspheroolithus'' eggs in Henan Geological Museum
See also
* List of dinosaur oogenera
References
Bibliography
* Carpenter, K. 1999. Eggs, Nests, and Baby Dinosaurs: A Look at Dinosaur Reproduction (Life of the Past). Indiana University Press, Bloomington, Indiana
* Z. Zhao. 1979. dvances in the study of fossil dinosaur eggs in our country Mesozoic and Cenozoic red beds of South China; selected papers from the field conference on the South China Cretaceous-Early Tertiary red beds. Science Press, Beijing 330-340
Dinosaur reproduction
Milk River Formation
Paleontology in Alberta
Paleontology in Montana
Cretaceous Utah
Paleontology in Utah
Cretaceous China
Fossils of China
Cretaceous Japan
Fossils of Japan
Cretaceous Mongolia
Fossils of Mongolia
Cretaceous Spain
Fossils of Spain
Tremp Formation
Fossil parataxa described in 1979
Cretaceous Alberta
Cretaceous Montana
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