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Egg type

Nanhsiungoolithus

Zhao 1975

Nanhsiungoolithus is an egg type: the name is for the fossil eggs themselves. The animal that laid them is not known for certain. Its eggs are found in rocks 89.8–66 million years old in China and Mongolia.

Confidence labels
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Confidence labels are switched off. Facts with low confidence, or where sources disagree, still carry a small dot: tap it for the reason.

At a glance

Data as of 12 October 2026
89.8–66 Ma
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
252 million years ago20114366

The last non-bird dinosaurs died out 66 million years ago. That's as far from us as the end of this bar.

Named by
Zhao 1975
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.

Described in
Z.-K. Zhao (1975). [The microstructures of the dinosaurian eggshells of Nanxiong Basin, Guandong province. (1) On the classification of dinosaur eggs]. Vertebrata PalAsiatica 13(2): 105–117.
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; its author and year match the naming authority (Zhao 1975).
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. The publication the Paleobiology Database gives as the authority for this genus name, usually the one that first named and described it.

Dated to
Coniacian to Maastrichtian, 89.8–66 million years ago
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Omnisaura calculation89.8–66 million years ago, from its dated fossil records
mediummedium: Omnisaura's calculation from 6 confirmed PBDB records.
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.

Found in
China
mediummedium: Only PBDB records it (5 records).
Mongolia
lowlow: Only one PBDB record.
mixedmixed: Levels differ between entries; each has its own.
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: Union of all sources (ISO 3166).

Rock formations
Pingling
mediummedium: Only PBDB records it (3 records).
Djadokhta
lowlow: Only one PBDB record.
Gaogou
lowlow: Only one PBDB record.
Yuanpu
lowlow: Only one PBDB record.
mixedmixed: Levels differ between entries; each has its own.
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: Canonical names, automatic and editor-approved matches applied.

Egg family
Elongatoolithidae
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.

Parent group
Elongatoolithidae
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.

Known from
Eggs
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database (what the name was based on).

Laid by
Not known for certain. Eggs rarely show which animal laid them.
Sources: Omnisaura editorial (Omnisaura editorial content (© Future Sailors, all rights reserved)), Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0), Natural History Museum Data Portal (CC0 1.0)Confidence levels and gaps are Omnisaura's own assessment.

Gaps are answers

What isn't known yet

  • The animal that laid them: not known for certain, as for most egg types.
  • Type species: no source we use gives it yet.
  • Order: no source we use gives it yet.
  • Common names: no source we use gives it yet.
  • What it was named after: no source we use gives it yet.
  • Resting on one source: 5 facts come from a single source with nothing against them (rated medium): name (PBDB); authority (PBDB); parent group (PBDB); family (PBDB); age (headline) (PBDB).

Size, diet and behaviour aren't covered yet. Omnisaura leaves them out rather than guess.

Where sources disagree

None open. Where our sources overlap, they agree on everything shown here.

Did it meet…?

?

Same time, different places. Their fossils overlap in age, 83.6 to 66 million years ago, but no rock formation holds both.

Going by the ages and rock formations of their dated fossils, as on the map. Compare their fossil sites on the map.

Found in the same rocks

Genera and other fossil types from the same formations, from rocks of the same age.

ElongatoolithusProtoceratopsVelociraptorMacroolithusPinacosaurusProtoceratopsidovumShixingoolithusBagaceratopsOvaloolithusPrismatoolithusShuvuuiaSpheroolithusByronosaurusCitipatiFaveoloolithusOviraptorand 15 more

Same family

Other genera in Elongatoolithidae with a full profile.

ContinuoolithusElongatoolithusMacroelongatoolithusMacroolithusPorituberoolithusTrachoolithusUndulatoolithus

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