Statistical Approach for Classification of Dinosaur Eggs from the Heyuan Basin at the Northeast of Guangdong Province  

作　　者：Kohei TANAKA LU Junchang LIU Yi HUANG Zhiqing Yoshitsugu KOBAYASHI HUANG Dong Darla K. ZELENITSKY 

机构地区：[1]Department of Geoscience, University of Calgary, Calgary T2N1N4, Canada [2]Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing 10037, China [3]Heyuan Museum, Heyuan 517000, China [4]Hokkaido University Museum, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan

出　　处：《Acta Geologica Sinica(English Edition)》2012年第2期294-303,共10页地质学报（英文版）

基　　金：supported by agrant from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (40872017)

摘　　要：The Zhutian and Dafeng formations （Upper Cretaceous） of the Heyuan Basin in northeastern Guangdong Province, China, have produced thousands of dinosaur eggs. Macromorphological features （egg diameter, egg shape, outer surface texture, and shell thickness） of 461 eggs were analyzed using non-destructive techniques and subjected to statistical analyses in order to assess their diversity and taxonomic affinities. Three types （1, 2 and 3） of eggs were discerned based on shape and outer surface morphology. Type 1 eggs are spherical to ellipsoidal in shape and have a rough surface. Three subtypes （Type 1-A-l, l-A-2, and l-B） are apparent from scatter plots and cluster analyses of egg diameters and shell thickness. Type 2 eggs are elongate with linear ornamentation on the surface, and are comparable to eggs that belong to the oofamily Elongatoolithidae. Type 3 eggs are elongate with a smooth surface, and are assigned to the oofamily Prismatoolithidae. Macromorphological features of the various egg types suggest that Type 1 could have been laid by ornithischian, sauropod or therizinosaur dinosaurs, Type 2 by oviraptorids, and Type 3 by troodontids. This study represents the first comprehensive statistical analysis of macrofeatures of dinosaur eggs, and reveals taxonomic diversity in the dinosaurs that were laying eggs in the Upper Cretaceous Heyuan area heretofore unrecognized in skeletal remains.The Zhutian and Dafeng formations （Upper Cretaceous） of the Heyuan Basin in northeastern Guangdong Province, China, have produced thousands of dinosaur eggs. Macromorphological features （egg diameter, egg shape, outer surface texture, and shell thickness） of 461 eggs were analyzed using non-destructive techniques and subjected to statistical analyses in order to assess their diversity and taxonomic affinities. Three types （1, 2 and 3） of eggs were discerned based on shape and outer surface morphology. Type 1 eggs are spherical to ellipsoidal in shape and have a rough surface. Three subtypes （Type 1-A-l, l-A-2, and l-B） are apparent from scatter plots and cluster analyses of egg diameters and shell thickness. Type 2 eggs are elongate with linear ornamentation on the surface, and are comparable to eggs that belong to the oofamily Elongatoolithidae. Type 3 eggs are elongate with a smooth surface, and are assigned to the oofamily Prismatoolithidae. Macromorphological features of the various egg types suggest that Type 1 could have been laid by ornithischian, sauropod or therizinosaur dinosaurs, Type 2 by oviraptorids, and Type 3 by troodontids. This study represents the first comprehensive statistical analysis of macrofeatures of dinosaur eggs, and reveals taxonomic diversity in the dinosaurs that were laying eggs in the Upper Cretaceous Heyuan area heretofore unrecognized in skeletal remains.

关 键 词：dinosaur egg Nanxiong Group Late Cretaceous Heyuan Basin GUANGDONG China 

分 类 号：Q915[天文地球—古生物学与地层学]