Description and Phylogenetic Position of Dinosaur Eggshells from the Luanchuan Area of Western Henan Province, China

作者：Tanaka, Kohei^*; Lue Junchang; Kobayashi, Yoshitsugu; Zelenitsky, Darla K.; Xu Li; Jia Songhai; Qin Shuang; Tang Min'an

来源：Acta Geologica Sinica (English Edition), 2011, 85(1): 66-74.

DOI：10.1111/j.1755-6724.2011.00379.x

• dinosaur eggshells
• Qiupa Formation
• Late Cretaceous
• Luanchuan
• Henan Province
• China

Here, we examine 145 dinosaur eggshells from a new fossil locality in the Qiupa Formation (Upper Cretaceous) of the Luanchuan area in western Henan Province, China. The eggshells display elongatoolithid macro- and microstructures, including ridges and nodes on the outer surface, two ultrastructural layers, and an undulatory boundary between the mammillary and continuous layers. A phylogenic analysis shows that the Luanchuan eggshells belong to the ooclade Elongatoolithidae. Within Elongatoolithidae, the thickness ratio of the mammillary layer to the entire eggshell, and the porosity of the Luanchuan eggshells are comparable to the oogenera Macroolithus and Elongatoolithus. There is no direct evidence for the taxonomic identity of the Luanchuan eggshells; however, they were likely laid by oviraptorids based on their phylogenetic position and their similarities with known oviraptorid eggs.

• 出版日期2011
• 单位河南省地质博物馆; 华北水利水电大学; 中国地质科学院