The first hadrosauroid eggshell from the Aix-en-Provence Basin (late Maastrichtian) of France

Nearly all dinosaur egg or oospecies occurrences from the Upper Cretaceous of France have been attributedto titanosaur dinosaurs. Here, we describe the first occurrence of probable hadrosauroid eggshells fromFrance, which we assign to a new oospecies, Paraspheroolithus porcarboris oosp. nov. (oofamily:Spheroolithidae), from the upper ‘Argiles et Grès à Reptiles’ Formation (upper Maastrichtian) of Aix-en-Provence. Paraspheroolithus porcarboris differs from all other spheroolithid oospecies in the followingcombination of characteristics: prolatospherulitic morphotype, prolatocanaliculate pore system, prominentanastomosing ornamentation, medium eggshell thickness, less defined horizontal accretion lines and highpore density. The spheroolithid affinity places the new ootaxon outside oofamilies ascribed to titanosaurs(i.e. Megaloolithidae and Fusioolithidae), and thus its discovery expands the parataxonomic diversity of thisregion and formation. We suggest the taxonomic affinity of Spheroolithidae is somewhat broader thanHadrosauroidea, potentially encompassing all Ornithopoda. However, a hadrosauroid affinity remains themost plausible for Paraspheroolithus porcarboris based on the absence of other ornithopod remains from lateMaastrichtian deposits of the Ibero-Armorican Island.

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