A New Ootype of Dinosaur Egg (Faveoloolithidae: Duovallumoolithus shangdanensis oogen. et oosp. nov.) from the Late Cretaceous in the Shangdan Basin, Shaanxi Province, China

A new ootype collected from the Upper Cretaceous Lijiacun Formation in the Shangdan Basin, Shaanxi Province is described in this paper. Based on general external shape, size, eggshell thickness and honeycomb-like eggshell microstructure, eggs are referable to the oofamily Faveoloolithidae. Compared with other members of Faveoloolithidae, specimens described in this paper show special characteristics: adjacent pores are usually separated by two eggshell units between which often develop interspaces; columnar eggshell units are relatively closely arranged in radial view. According to these characteristics, we erect a new oogenus and a new oospecies: Duovallumoolithus shangdanensis oogen. et oosp. nov. The new discovery expands the diversity of Faveoloolithidae.