HEFEI -- Chinese researchers have found a fossilized nest containing a new type of dinosaur egg, according to Anhui Geological Museum Friday.

The new egg species, Umbellaoolithus xiuningensis, was named after Xiuning county in China's eastern Anhui province, where it was discovered. They can be distinguished from all other known dinosaur eggs, so researchers have classed them as a new dinosaur egg family.

The fossils date back to the late Cretaceous period, about 145 to 66 million years ago.

The discovery was detailed in an article in Chinese Science Bulletin by a team led by Huang Jiandong, a doctor with the museum, and Wang Qiang, an associate researcher from the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Researchers said the new discovery could shed light on the study of prehistoric life in the region.