Jump to content

Megaloolithus

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Megaloolithus
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous
Megaloolithus at the Museum d'Histoire Naturelle Aix-en-Provence.
Eggs of titanosaurid, possibly Hypselosaurus priscus
Egg fossil classification Edit this classification
Basic shell type: Dinosauroid-spherulitic
Oofamily: Megaloolithidae
Oogenus: Megaloolithus
Mikhailov, 1991
Oospecies

See text

Megaloolithus is an oogenus of dinosaur egg.[1] They are thought to have been laid by sauropod dinosaurs. They are known for having thick eggshells, at least 1.5 millimetres (0.059 in) thick, and the nearly spherical shape of the eggs.[2] They are primarily found in India and Europe, but some specimens have been found in South America.[3]

Species

[edit]
  • M. aureliensis
  • M. baghensis
  • M. cylindricus
  • M. dhoridungriensis
  • M. jabalpurensis
  • M. khempurensis
  • M. mamillare
  • M. megadermus
  • M. microtuberculata
  • M. mohabeyi
  • M. petralta
  • M. problematica
  • M. siruguei
  • M. trempii
  • M. patagonicus

Distribution

[edit]

Fossils of Megaloolithus have been found in:[4]

[edit]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Carpenter, K. 1999. Eggs, Nests, and Baby Dinosaurs: A Look at Dinosaur Reproduction (Life of the Past). Indiana University Press, Bloomington, Indiana.
  2. ^ K. E. Mikhailov. 1991. Classification of fossil eggshells of amniotic vertebrates. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 36(2):193-238
  3. ^ Paleobiology Database
  4. ^ Megaloolithus at Fossilworks.org

Further reading

[edit]
  • Bravo, Ana María; Vila, Bernat; Galobart, Àngel; Oms, Oriol (2005), "Restos de huevos de dinosaurio en el Cretácico Superior del sinclinal de Vallcebre (Berguedà, provincia de Barcelona) - Remains of dinosaur eggs in the Upper Cretaceous of the Vellcebre syncline (Berguedà, Barcelona province)" (PDF), Revista Española de Paleontología, 10: 49–57, retrieved 2018-05-24 (in Spanish)
  • Vila, Bernat; Jackson, Frankie D.; Fortuny, Josep; Sellés, Albert G.; Galobart, Àngel (2010), "3-D Modelling of Megaloolithid Clutches: Insights about Nest Construction and Dinosaur Behaviour", PLoS One, 5 (5): 1–13, Bibcode:2010PLoSO...510362V, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0010362, PMC 2864735, PMID 20463953