Parafaveoloolithusis anoogenusofFaveoloolithidfossil egg,known from theCretaceousofChina.[1]
| Parafaveoloolithus Temporal range:
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Egg fossil classification
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| Basic shell type: | †Dinosauroid-spherulitic |
| Oofamily: | †Faveoloolithidae |
| Oogenus: | †Parafaveoloolithus Zhang,2010 |
| Oospecies | |
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Description
editParafaveoloolithusis diagnosed by its spherical or oval eggs, with a single layer of eggshell units (or a two superimposed layers in some portions). The growth lines of the shell units are undefined. Shell units are prismatic, and separated near the surface of the eggshell.[1]
Oospecies
editParafaveoloolithuscontains six oospecies:
- P. microporus- Spherical eggs from theTiantai basinwith a single layer of eggshell units. They are roughly 14 cm in diameter, with an eggshell that is 2.2-2.35 mm thick. It is very similar toFaveoloolithus ningxiaensis.[1]
- P. xipingensis- Described in1998as a species ofYoungoolithus.It is from theUpper CretaceousofXixia County,Henan Province.[2]It was moved toParafaveoloolithusbecause of its slender prismatic shell units and straight pores.[1]
- P. macroporus- Oval eggs, known from the Tiantai basin, with large pore canals. The eggs are symmetrical, and about 13 cm in diameter.[1]
- P. tiansicunensis- Also from Tiantai,P. tiansicunensisis very similar toP. microporusandP. macroporus,but it has a thinner shell and the pore canals narrow sharply near the outer surface of its shell.[1]
- P. guoqingensis- Spherical eggs 18.7 cm in diameter, native to Tiantai, with numerous pores looking like a honeycomb in cross-section. This oospecies was originally described as an oospecies ofDendroolithusby Fanget al.(2000), but was moved toParafaveoloolithusby Wanget al.(2011).[3]
- P. pingxiangensis- This oospecies, first described by Zouet al.(2013), is quite distinct from the otherParafaveoloolithusoospecies because its shell is composed of several superimposed shell units. It was classified inParafaveoloolithusbecause of the shell units assembling in the upper and middle portions of the shell. It is native to thePingxiang basinofJiangxi Province.[4]
References
edit- ^abcdefZhang, S.K. 2010.A parataxonomic revision of the Cretaceous faveoloolithid eggs of China.Vertebrata PalAsiatica48(3):203-219
- ^Fang X.S., Lu L.W., Cheng Z.W.,et al.(1998)On the Cretaceous eggs of Xixia County, Henan Province.Beijing: Geological Publishing House. 1-125.
- ^Wang Qiang, Zhao Zi-kui, Wang Xiao-lin, and Jiang Yan-gen. (2011) "New ootypes of dinosaur eggs from the Late Cretaceous in Tiantai Basin, Zhejiang Province, China."Vertebrata PalAsiatica49(4):446-449.
- ^Zou S.L, Wang Q., and Wang X.L. (2013) "A new oospecies of parafaveoloolithids from the Pingxiang Basin, Jiangxi Province of China."Vertebrata PalAsiatica.51(2):102-106.