Dinosaur Egg: Dendroolithus sp.

from Hadrosaur: Hadrosauridae, possibly saurolophus

Geological Time: Upper Cretaceous (about 70 to 80 million years old)

Size (25.4 mm = 1 inch): Widest diameter is 6.3 inches, weighing 6.75 pounds

Fossil Site: Kaoguo Formation, Xixia Basin, Henan Province, China

Fossil Code: EH025

Price: $750.00 - sold

This fossilized egg, Dendroolithus sp., is from a Hadrosaurid dinosaur. Hadrosaurids (meaning "bulky lizards") were a family of duck-billed, herbivorous dinosaurs that laid their eggs in nests with a dozen or more eggs. While hatching and scavenging would normally destroy most eggs, occasional eggs were fossilized as seen here. Dendroolithus dinosaur eggs such as this with essentially complete, intact shell are highly desirable, and now rarely rare.

This exceptional egg has been cleaned with air micro-abrasion to fully reveal the milk chocolate colored shell that is almost complete. Also note the calcite that rims the edge of the egg (very rarely, eggs are found that are nearly all crystal calcite).