New data on the fossil eggshell diversity from the lower Maastrichtian of southern France

The examination of a large number of eggshell fragments from several late Cretaceous (continental series) localities from southern France has revealed a greater ootaxonomic diversity. The eggshells obtained by washing and screening at Cruzy (Quarantes basin, Herault), La Neuve and Vitrolles-Couperigne localities (Aix basin, Bouches-du-Rhone) were associated with various bone remains (dinosaur, bird, crocodile, turtle, anoure, squamate...). On the basis of the morpho-histostructure, all the material had been assigned to the morphotypes defined by Mikhailov (1987a,b, 199, 1997) and a part of it has been referred to some parataxonomical units. The recognized morphotypes geckonoid, crocodiloid, testudoid, tubospherulitic, prismatic and ratite are represented in Variable proportions according to the sites. Several ootypes have been attributed to some oofamilies among which Megaloolithidae, Prismatoolithidae, Krokolithidae, Laevisooiithidae and Testudoolithidae. Moreover, the identification of the bone remains from the three localities led us to obtain a correlation beetween eggshell structure and taxonomic groups.