Protoceratopsidovum
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| Protoceratopsidovum Temporal range: Campanian ~ | |
|---|---|
Egg fossil classification  | |
| Basic shell type: | †Dinosauroid-prismatic |
| Oofamily: | †Prismatoolithidae |
| Oogenus: | †Protoceratopsidovum Mikhailov, 1994 |
| Oospecies | |
| |
Protoceratopsidovum is an oogenus of dinosaur egg from Mongolia. Despite its name (which means "eggs of Protoceratops"[1]), it does not represent the eggs of a protoceratopsid, but rather the eggs of maniraptoran theropods.[2][3]
Protoceratopsidovum eggs are extremely abundant in the Djadokhta and Barun Goyot Formations.[4] P. sincerum and P. minimum eggs both have a smooth surface, whereas those of P. fluxuosum have fine ornamentation around the equatorial part.[4] The eggs are elongated and asymmetrical, with a two-layered prismatic shell generally resembling the eggs of Troodon.[5] They were laid in pairs.[3]
Parataxonomy
The eggs of Protoceratopsidovum are classified in the oofamily Prismatoolithidae.[4] They were originally thought to be eggs of Protoceratops (hence the name) because they are extremely common at the same sites as Protoceratops.[4] However, more recent research has cast doubt on this: a cladistic analysis in 2008, by Zelenitsky and Therrien, found them to be the eggs of maniraptorans.[3]