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]

Heishanoolithus
Temporal range: Early Cretaceous
Egg fossil classification Edit this classification
Basic shell type: Ornithoid
Morphotype: Ornithoid-ratite
Oofamily: Elongatoolithidae
Oogenus: Heishanoolithus
Zhao and Zhao, 1999
Oospecies

References edit