Indian and French dinosaur eggshell oospecies belonging to the oofamily Megaloolithidae are compared and, of the fourteen Megaloolithidae oospecies previously described from the Late Cretaceous of India, seven are considered junior synonyms. Comparisons between nine oospecies from India and France reveal four groupings which show similarities between megaloolithids of these countries: (1) Megaloolithus microtuberculata, M. cylindricus, and M. padiyalensis; (2) M. mamillare and M. jabalpurensis; (3) M. siruguei and M. khempurensis; and (4) M. pseudomamillare and M. baghensis. Five oospecies from India have no French equivalents, whereas the oogenus Cairanoolithus is endemic to France. Updated synonymy Megaloolithus oospecies shows a total of nine distinct oospecies from India: Megaloolithus cylindricus, M. mohabeyi, M. padiyalensis, M. jabalpurensis, M. dholiyaensis, M. dhoridungriensis, M. khempurensis, M. megadermus, and M. baghensis. One oospecies, M. jabalpurensis, is common to India and South America and is considered here to be possibly a senior synonym of M. patagonicus. The similarities in egg taxa suggest close phyletic relationships, as well as the probable existence of a terrestrial connection of dinosaur fauna between India and Europe during the Cretaceous, and between the two gondwanan areas Patagonia and India.
How to translate text using browser tools
1 September 2003
RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN EUROPEAN AND INDIAN DINOSAUR EGGS AND EGGSHELLS OF THE OOFAMILY MEGALOOLITHIDAE
MONIQUE VIANEY-LIAUD,
ASHU KHOSLA,
GERALDINE GARCIA
ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology
Vol. 23 • No. 3
September 2003
Vol. 23 • No. 3
September 2003