Abstract:

Here we describe a partially-preserved dinosaur clutch with twelve nearly complete eggs discovered in Shanggao County, Jiangxi Province that can be assigned to Coralloidoolithus shizuiwanensis. These dinosaur eggs are nearly spheroid in shape, with an average polar axis of 11.8 cm and an average equatorial diameter of 9.8 cm. The eggshell has a maximum thickness of about 2.5 mm and is composed of a thin cone layer and a multilevel columnar layer, the latter of which can be divided into inner, medial and outer zones. There are dense horizontal growth lines in the inner zone, lamellar and speckled dark materials in the medial zone, and the secondary eggshell units are distributed in the medial and outer zones. According to this discovery, we revise the main taxonomic characteristic of Coralloidoolithus in the Stalicoolithidae to be the loose and dark materials in the medial zone of the columnar layer. This discovery not only extends the paleogeographic distribution of Coralloidoolithus shizuiwanensis, but also provides comparative evidence of the Late Cretaceous strata in the Shanggao red basin.

Key words: Shanggao County, Jiangxi Province, Late Cretaceous, dinosaur eggs, Stalicoolithidae

摘要：

记述了江西省上高县发现的一窝不完整蛋窝的恐龙蛋。根据恐龙蛋宏观形态和蛋壳显微结构特征将其归入石嘴湾珊瑚蛋(Coralloidoolithus shizuiwanensis)。该窝恐龙蛋为近圆形球体,平均长径11.8 cm, 平均赤道直径9.8 cm, 蛋壳厚度可达2.5 mm; 蛋壳由锥体层与柱状层组成,锥体层较薄,柱状层可分为内层、中间层和外层,内层发育致密的水平生长纹,中间层结构松散,含有大量暗色物质,中间层和外层发育次生壳单元。依据新标本的观察,明确珊瑚蛋属在石笋蛋科中以柱状层中间层结构松散为主要分类特征。上高新标本的发现,丰富了石嘴湾珊瑚蛋的古地理分布,同时也为上高地区晚白垩世含恐龙蛋红层的对比提供了新的证据。

关键词: 江西上高, 晚白垩世, 恐龙蛋, 石笋蛋类