Parataxonomic classification of Late Cretaceous dinosaur eggshells from India

Abstract

The Late Cretaceous eggs and eggshell fragments of India have been parataxonomally described and classified as follows: seven new oospecies (Megaloolithus cylindricus, M. jabalpurensis, M. mohaheyi, M. baghensis, M. dholryaensis, M. walpurensis and M. padiyalensis) are of rubospherulitic morphotype and have been assigned to the oogenus Megaloolithus of the oofamily Megaloolithidae. The eighth new oospecies {Subtiliolithus kachchhensis) of ornithoid-ratite morphotype has been assigned to the oogenus Subtiliolithus of the oofamily Subtiliolithidae. In the absence of identifiable embryonic remains in the Megaloolithus oospecies, these eggs have been correlated to the taxa of Sauropoda based mostly on the titanosaurid bones found in the associated strata. Subtiliolithus may represent an avian eggshell or eggshell of a small theropod dinosaur.