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''Youngoolithus'' 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 ...
.Carpenter, K. 1999. Eggs, Nests, and Baby Dinosaurs: A Look at Dinosaur Reproduction (Life of the Past). Indiana University Press, Bloomington, Indiana. It is the sole member of the
oofamily 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 t ...
Youngoolithidae, and consists of a single oospecies: ''Youngoolithus xiaguanensis''. It consists of a single fossil nest of 16 eggs with an associated
dinosaur footprint A fossil track or ichnite (Greek "''ιχνιον''" (''ichnion'') – a track, trace or footstep) is a fossilized footprint. This is a type of trace fossil. A fossil trackway is a sequence of fossil tracks left by a single organism. Over the year ...
that was first discovered in 1975 in the
Majiacun Formation The Majiacun Formation is a Santonian to Coniacian geologic formation in China.Houzhuang Village,
Henan Province Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Luo ...
, in the
Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...
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.


References

Dinosaur reproduction Fossil parataxa described in 1979 {{eggshell-stub