China: perfectly fossilized and ready to hatch dinosaur embryo discovered – franceinfo

Scientists announced Tuesday, December 21, that they had discovered a beautifully preserved dinosaur embryo, dating to at least 66 million years ago. This oviraptorosaur fossil, discovered in Ganzhou, China, was named by researchers “Baby Yingliang”. “This is one of the best dinosaur embryos ever found”, said Fion Waisum Ma, of the University of Birmingham and co-author of the study, published in iScience (link in English).

L‘oviraptorosaurus, Who means “egg-stealing lizard”, was found in her 17-centimeter-long egg, with its back bent, its feet on either side of its head, with it tucked into its stomach, preparing to exit. This position had never been seen in dinosaurs before, but is well known in birds: when the chicks prepare to hatch, they stabilize their heads under a wing, while piercing their shell with their beak. “This indicates that such behavior in modern birds has its origins in their dinosaur ancestors.”, explains Fion Waisum Ma.