The Academy of Sciences discovered an egg fossil in the Late Cretaceous strata of the Tiantai Basin, Zhejiang. The egg fossil is only 4.5cm long, with obvious sharp and blunt ends. The shape is very similar to a bird egg, but it shows the shell microstructure of a dinosaur egg.
The Tiantai Basin in Zhejiang produces a group of early Late Cretaceous dinosaur egg fossils represented by honeycomb eggs, reticulated eggs, stalagmite eggs and mosaic eggs. The eggshell of the newly reported fossil egg has a barrel-shaped cone, irregular stomata, and developed growth lines, which is very similar to the eggshell structure of stalagmite eggs, mosaic eggs, and paraorchids. However, these egg fossils are much larger than the new specimens and are nearly round. Therefore, the new specimen represents a new egg genus and egg species that is closely related to these egg fossils, and is named Parvoblongoolithus jinguoensis. The discovery of this new specimen enriches the composition of the dinosaur egg fossil group in the Tiantai Basin. More importantly, it proves that some bird egg characteristics, such as smaller size and oval shape, are in harmony with stalagmite eggs, mosaic eggs and Paracircular eggs are also found in the eggs of closely related dinosaurs.
The researchers also pointed out that since the egg fossils that are closely related to the new specimen are larger in size, it cannot be ruled out that the small size of this egg fossil is caused by temporary physiological disorders during dinosaur laying. Similar phenomena occur in modern times. It has also been reported in birds. Because there are no other egg fossils from the same clutch for comparison, it is initially designated as a new egg genus and egg species, and a new egg family is not established.
Figure 1 Homotype specimen of Parvoblongoolithus jinguoensis oogen. et oosp. nov., scale bar = 10 mm.
Figure 2 Microstructure of eggshell of Parvoblongoolithus jinguoensis oogen. et oosp. nov., A, B, E, F, scale bar = 0.2 mm; C, D, scale bar = 0.4 mm.
animal tags：
you may also like
There is a city called Seymour in Texas, USA. A large area of early Permian sediments is exposed in the north of the city. The famous fossil representative of salamanders between reptiles and amphibians was found here. On the one hand, salamanders resemble a labyrinthine...
Sacabambaspis (scientific name: Sacabambaspis, meaning "Armor of Sacabamba") is a jawless fish that lived in the Ordovician period. It inhabits the shallow sea on the edge of Gondwana. A close relative of the Aranda softshell turtle, a famous ancient fish with numerous fossils. At least 30...
Bryos and mosses in plants are two different things! They are a type of primitive aquatic group animals with tiny individuals. However, their body structure is more evolved than that of worms, with three germ layers and a true body cavity, and their bodies are not segmented. They are called "...
The Academy of Sciences discovered an egg fossil in the Late Cretaceous strata of the Tiantai Basin, Zhejiang. The egg fossil is only 4.5cm long, with obvious sharp and blunt ends. The shape is very similar to a bird egg, but it shows the shell microstructure of a dinosaur egg....
In 1973, farmers in Heshui County, Gansu Province discovered a piece of white ivory while digging in the sand. After 35 days of excavation by the excavation team, all the fossils were finally exposed: it was the skeleton of an elephant, inserted diagonally in the sand, with its feet stepping on ston...
Regulations on the Protection of Paleontological FossilsChapter 1 General ProvisionsArticle 1 These Regulations are formulated in order to strengthen the protection of paleontological fossils and promote the scientific research and rational utilization of paleontological fossils.Article 2 Those enga...
Recently, Wang Min, Zhou Zhonghe, and Thomas from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences published the latest research results in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), reporting on an early Cretaceous primitive bird dis...
Among the elephantoids, the main group of proboscis, the development of a pair of huge upper incisors (ivory) has become a distinctive feature of this group. This structure is often used as a feeding tool for individuals and as a weapon for males to compete for mating rights. Pr...
Email: jsset#163.com (change # to @) Please indicate your purpose of visit! Guangdong ICP No. 2022053326 XML| map| Chinese
