Genus
Formal taxon Extinct

Dendroolithus

Zhao and Li 1988

Dendroolithus is an oogenus of Dendroolithid dinosaur egg found in the late Cenomanian Chichengshan Formation, in the Gong-An-Zhai and Santonian Majiacun Formations of China and the Maastrichtian Nemegt and Campanian Barun Goyot Formation of Mongolia. They can be up to 162 mm long and 130 mm wide. These eggs may have been laid by a Therizinosaur, Sauropod, or Ornithopod. The oospecies "D." shangtangensis was originally classified as Dendroolithus, however, it has since been moved to its own distinct oogenus, Similifaveoloolithus. This oogenus is related with embryos of the theropod Torvosaurus.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
23
Group
Dinosaures
Terrestrial
Dendroolithus
click to enlarge
Dinosaur eggs (Dendroolithus sp.) from Kaoguo Formation, Henan, China, on display at the San Diego County Fair, California, USA. © Stickpen · Public domain · Wikimedia
PBDB ↗ Wikipedia ↗
Classification
Dinosauria Unranked clade
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Phaceloolithidae Family
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Dendroolithus Genus
Fossil sites 23 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇨🇳 China
17
🇲🇳 Mongolia
6
Geological formations
Zhaoying
9
Baruungoyot
4
Zoumagang
2
Dongyuan
2
Baynshire
1
Gong-An-Zhai
1
Chichengshan
1
Gaogou
1
Majiacun
1
Nemegt
1
Temporal distribution
Maastrichtian (72.2–66 Ma)
1
Campanian (83.6–72.2 Ma)
7
Santonian (85.7–83.6 Ma)
1
Coniacian (89.8–85.7 Ma)
10
Turonian (93.9–89.8 Ma)
2
Cenomanian (100.5–93.9 Ma)
1
Barremian (125.77–121.4 Ma)
1
Species (8)
Dendroolithus dendriticus 101 Ma
Dendroolithus fengguangcunensis 84 Ma
Dendroolithus furcatus 90 Ma
Dendroolithus microporosus 84 Ma
Dendroolithus sanlimiaoensis 90 Ma
Dendroolithus wangdianensis 101 Ma
Dendroolithus xichuanensis 90 Ma
Dendroolithus zhaoyingensis 90 Ma
Images 1
Bibliography
Original description
Z. Zhao and Z. Li. 1988. A new structural type of the dinosaur eggs from Anlu County, Hubei Province. Vertebrata PalAsiatica 26(2):107-115
Bibliography (9)
K. Tanaka, D. K. Zelenitsky, and F. Therrien, Y. Lee, K. Kubota, Y. Kobayashi, G. F. Funston, T. Khishigjav. 2023. Description and review of non-avian dinosaur eggs from Cretaceous deposits of the Mongolian Gobi Desert. Windows into Sauropsid and Synapsid Evolution: Essays in Honor of Louis L. Jacobs
X. Fang, Z. Zhang, and Q. Pang, P. Li, Y. Han, H. Xie, R. Yan, F. Pang, J. Lü, Z. Cheng. 2007. [Cretaceous strata and egg fossils in Xixia, Henan province]. Acta Geoscientia Sinica 28(2):123–142
X. Fang, Z. Zhang, and X. Zhang, L. Lu, Y. Han, P. Li. 2005. [Fossil eggs from the Heyuan Basin, east-central Guangdong, China]. Geological Bulletin of China 24(7):682–686
S.-q. Zhou and Z.-j. Feng. 2002. [Studies on the occurrence beds of Oölithus and their relations to the upper-lower boundarues in Henan province]. Resources Survey & Environment 23(1):68-76
X. Fang, Y. Wang, and Y. Jiang. 2000. [On the Late Cretaceous fossil eggs of Tiantai, Zhejiang]. Geological Review 46(1):105-112
H. Zhao and Z. Zhao. 1998. [Dinosaur eggs from Xichuan Basin, Henan province]. Vertebrata PalAsiatica 36(4):282–296
K. Mikhailov, K. Sabath, and S. Kurzanov. 1994. Eggs and nests from the Cretaceous of Mongolia. Dinosaur Eggs and Babies, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
K. E. Mikhailov. 1994. Eggs of sauropod and ornithopod dinosaurs from the Cretaceous deposits of Mongolia. Paleontological Journal 28(3):141–159
Z. Zhao and Z. Li. 1988. A new structural type of the dinosaur eggs from Anlu County, Hubei Province. Vertebrata PalAsiatica 26(2):107-115