New turtle egg fossil from the Upper Cretaceous of the Laiyang Basin, Shandong Province, China

Abstract

A new type of turtle egg fossil was established: Emydoolithus laiyangensis oogen. et oosp. nov.. Based on its elliptical morphological shape, rigid eggshells, and eggshell characteristics, it is different from other types of round chelonian egg fossils. It is the second chelonian egg fossil found in Cretaceous in China. This discovery shows the Laiyang ecosystem in Late Cretaceous is more diversified than previously thought.

An occurrence of fossil eggs from the Mesozoic of Madagascar and a detailed observation of eggshell microstructure

“…Among oospecies assigned to the Testudoolithidae, the Malagasy specimens differ from Chelonoolithus braemi Kohring, 1998, by a shell unit height to width ratio of 2:1. They differ from Emydoolithus laiyangensis Wang et al, 2013, in overall egg shape, but are similar in eggshell thickness and are within the lower range of height to width ratio of E. laiyangensis. They can be distinguished from Haininchelys curiosa Schleich et al, 1988, by their greater eggshell thickness.…”

Vertebrate microfossils from the Upper Freshwater Molasse in the Swiss Molasse Basin: Implications for the evolution of the North Alpine Foreland Basin during the Miocene Climate Optimum

“…Additionally, Emydoolithus laiyangensis from the Late Cretaceous of China (Wang et al, 2013) and Testudoolithus oosp. from the Campanian of Madagascar (Lawver et al, in press) have an eggshell thickness similar to that of the specimens studied here, but no pores were observed in either of these ootaxa, which suggests that these eggs were likely adapted to arid incubation environments and reduced water loss.…”

A new saurolophine hadrosaurid (Dinosauria: Ornithopoda) from the Upper Cretaceous of Shandong, China

“…Studies have shown that the Hadrosauridae can be divided into two main clades, the Saurolophinae on the basis of a sacrum and right ilium found in the same place as Tsintaosaurus (Zhen 1976). In addition of hadrosauroid material, the Wangshi group in Laiyang has yielded a number of other dinosaurs (Young 1958, Dong 1978, Buffetaut and Tong 1995, four families, five genera, and eleven species of dinosaur eggs (Wang et al 2010), as well as a turtle egg (Wang et al 2013a). These dinosaur fossils and eggs are referred to as the Laiyang Hadrosauroid Fauna and Dinosaur Egg Fauna (Wang et al 2010(Wang et al , 2012.…”