Description and Phylogenetic Position of Dinosaur Eggshells from the Luanchuan Area of Western Henan Province, China
Corresponding Author
Kohei TANAKA
Department of Geoscience, University of Calgary, Calgary T2N1N4, Canada
Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorLÜ Junchang
Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing 10037, China
Search for more papers by this authorYoshitsugu KOBAYASHI
Hokkaido University Museum, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060–0810, Japan
Search for more papers by this authorDark K. ZELENITSKY
Department of Geoscience, University of Calgary, Calgary T2N1N4, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorTANG Min'an
North China University of Water Conservancy and Electric Power, Zhengzhou 450011, China
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Kohei TANAKA
Department of Geoscience, University of Calgary, Calgary T2N1N4, Canada
Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorLÜ Junchang
Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing 10037, China
Search for more papers by this authorYoshitsugu KOBAYASHI
Hokkaido University Museum, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060–0810, Japan
Search for more papers by this authorDark K. ZELENITSKY
Department of Geoscience, University of Calgary, Calgary T2N1N4, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorTANG Min'an
North China University of Water Conservancy and Electric Power, Zhengzhou 450011, China
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract:
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.
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