Heishanoolithus Explained

Heishanoolithus is an oogenus of Elongatoolithid fossil egg from the Shahai Formation in Liaoning. It is known only from seven eggshell fragments. It is most notable for having a very thin eggshell (1.2-1.3 mm thick), the dense covering of nodes on the eggshell surface, and for its relatively thin mammilary layer (making up only one eighth of the eggshell thickness).^[1] While no remains of Heishanoolithus have been associated with skeletal remains, strong evidence links Elongatoolithid eggs to Oviraptorosaurs.^[2]

Notes and References

1. Zhao H. and Zhao Z. (1999) "A New Form of Elongatoolithid Dinosaur Eggs from the Lower Cretaceous Shahai Formation of Heishan, Liaoning Province." Vertebrata PalAsiatica, 37(4): 278-284.
2. Simon, D. J. (2014). "Giant Dinosaur (theropod) Eggs of the Oogenus Macroelongatoolithus (Elongatoolithidae) from Southeastern Idaho: Taxonomic, Paleobiogeographic, and Reproductive Implications. " (Doctoral dissertation, Montana State University, Bozeman).