Omnisaura

Egg type

Protodictyoolithus

Wang et al. 2012

Protodictyoolithus 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 93.9–72.2 million years old in China and South Korea.

Confidence labels
How sure are we?0 high9 medium2 lowHow we rate confidence

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 11 October 2026
93.9–72.2 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
Wang et al. 2012
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources

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

Described in
X.-l. Wang, Q. Wang, S.-x. Jiang, X. Cheng, J.-l. Zhang, Z.-k. Zhao, Y.-g. Jiang (2012). Dinosaur egg faunas of the Upper Cretaceous terrestrial red beds of China and their stratigraphical significance. Journal of Stratigraphy 36(2): 400–416.
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; its author and year match the naming authority (Wang et al. 2012).
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
Turonian to Campanian, 93.9–72.2 million years ago
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Omnisaura calculation93.9–72.2 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 (2 records).
South Korea
mediummedium: Only PBDB records it (4 records).
Sources

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

Rock formations
Goseong
mediummedium: Only PBDB records it (4 records).
Gaogou
lowlow: Only one PBDB record.
Jiangjunding
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
Dictyoolithidae
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources

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

Parent group
Dictyoolithidae
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: Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0)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 and appearance aren't covered yet, and diet and way of life only as PBDB infers them for the wider group. Omnisaura leaves the rest 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 72.2 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.

Connections

Genera linked to Protodictyoolithus by where and when their fossils were found, by classification and by who named them. Select a name to open its page.

ProtodictyoolithusFound in the same rocksSame familySame naming authorAlso found in ChinaElongatoolithusMacroelongatoolithusOvaloolithusPlacoolithusand 8 moreDictyoolithusParadictyoolithusAmbopteryxCoralloidoolithusMosaicoolithusSimilifaveoloolithusand 4 moreDendroolithusParaspheroolithusPrismatoolithusParafaveoloolithusand 30 more

Found in the same rocks 12

Genera and other fossil types from the same rock units, from rocks of overlapping age, the most shared fossil sites first.

ElongatoolithusMacroelongatoolithusOvaloolithusPlacoolithusSpheroolithusBeibeilongDendroolithusFaveoloolithusMultifissoolithusNanhsiungoolithusParaspheroolithusTanius

Same family: Dictyoolithidae 2

Other genera in Dictyoolithidae with a full profile.

DictyoolithusParadictyoolithus

Named by Wang 8

Genera whose naming authority includes the same surname. The authority has no initials, so different people who share a surname can appear together.

AmbopteryxCoralloidoolithusMosaicoolithusParadictyoolithusSimilifaveoloolithusStalicoolithusUndulatoolithusXingxiulong

Credits

Where this page comes from

  • Paleobiology DatabaseCC BY 4.0 · fossil records, ages, classification
  • OmnisauraOmnisaura editorial · confidence levels and gaps
  • PaleoMAP PaleoCoastlines (Kocsis and Scotese 2021)CC BY 4.0 · ancient coastlines on the small map
  • Natural EarthPublic domain · today's coastlines