A dinosaur embryo about to hatch discovered in China

A historic discovery. In Ganzhou, China, scientists got their hands on a dinosaur embryo dated between 72 and 66 million years old. This oviraptorosaur fossil, the feathered dinosaurs that lived in Asia and North America, was named by researchers “Baby Yingliang”. “This is one of the best dinosaur embryos ever found”Fion Waisum Ma, of the University of Birmingham and co-author of the study published in iScience.

“Baby Yingliang” was found with her back bent, her feet on either side of her head, with it tucked into her stomach. A position never observed in dinosaurs but better known in birds. Indeed, when the chicks prepare to hatch, they stabilize their head 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.”, concluded Fion Waisum Ma.

“This dinosaur embryo in its egg is one of the most beautiful fossils I have ever seen”University of Edinburgh professor Steve Brusatte and research team member said in a statement. The specimen “looks exactly like a nestling coiled in its egg, further proof that many characteristics of birds today derive from their dinosaur ancestors.”, he added.

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