Cannonball-sized dinosaur crystallised eggs found in China (Image Source – Journal of Palaeogeography)
Dinosaur eggs sometimes hold surprises. In eastern China, two fossil eggs were found in red sandstone layers and later cut open for study. Instead of tiny bones inside, researchers saw hollow spaces lined with clear crystals.
The discovery comes from the Upper Cretaceous Chishan Formation in the Qianshan Basin, Anhui Province. The eggs are almost round, measuring about 10 to 13 centimetres in length, with shells up to 2.6 millimetres thick. Their outer shape looks ordinary. Under a microscope, the shell shows clear growth lines and tightly packed structures. Scientists have named them a new oospecies, Shixingoolithus qianshanensis.
No embryo remains were preserved. What survived is the shell and the minerals that slowly formed inside after burial.
Crystal-filled dinosaur eggs discovered in China contain no fossilised embryos
According to study published in Journal of Palaeogeography, the crystals in the eggs are calcite crystals. They were not formed while the egg was still alive. Once the egg was buried in the soil, water seeped through the ground and brought along dissolved minerals. The inside of the egg had already rotted and turned into an empty space.
For a long time, minerals gradually deposited in the hollow and formed clusters of crystals. This method is usual for fossils. The organic material decomposes, and minerals either replace it or fill the voids.
Here the shell is quite intact, while the embryo is totally gone.
New dinosaur egg species identified in Anhui Province
Even without bones, the eggshell provides enough detail for identification. When thin slices were examined under a microscope, scientists observed uniform shell units and dense inner structures.
These features differ slightly from known types.Because of these differences, the eggs were classified as a new oospecies within the Stalicoolithidae family. It is the first time this group has been confirmed in the Qianshan Basin. Other Chinese regions have produced many dinosaur eggs, but this basin had little direct evidence until now.
Fossil eggs help confirm the age of the rocks
The eggs were found in layers formed by ancient rivers and lakes. These sediments belong to the Late Cretaceous period, shortly before the mass extinction that ended the age of dinosaurs.Finding dinosaur eggs in these rocks supports their dating. Fossils like these help geologists confirm the age of rock layers and understand how the region changed over time.Only two eggs are currently preserved, and one is incomplete. Still, they add useful detail to the record of dinosaur life in eastern China, quiet evidence from a distant past.
