The scientific community is in awe at a dinosaur egg that has been discovered to hold a near-perfect embryo.
The discovery was made in Ganzhou, China, and is believed to be one of the most perfectly preserved dinosaur embryos ever found. Named 'Baby Yingliang', it is estimated to be between 66 million and 72 million years old and is the egg of an oviraptorid, a type of dinosaur that resembles a bird.
While the egg was discovered in the year 2000, it wasn't until 2015 that scientists decided to have a look at what was inside, after a researcher noticed some bones sticking out of the shell. It is only now that the findings are being published.
The investigation was carried out by experts from the University of Birmingham and the University of Edinburgh. What they found perhaps most remarkable was the similarity in the way the dinosaur embryo took on the same form and body posture as modern birds do before they are born, showing yet another clear resemblance between modern avian creatures and the prehistoric reptiles.
Fion Waisum Ma, a Ph.D. researcher at the University of Birmingham, told reporters:
"Dinosaur embryos are some of the rarest fossils and most of them are incomplete with the bones dislocated. We are very excited about the discovery of Baby Yingliang - it is preserved in a great condition and helps us answer a lot of questions about dinosaur growth and reproduction with it. It is interesting to see this dinosaur embryo and a chicken embryo pose in a similar way inside the egg, which possibly indicates similar prehatching behaviours."
"This dinosaur embryo inside its egg is one of the most beautiful
fossils I have ever seen. This little prenatal dinosaur looks just like a
baby bird curled in its egg, which is yet more evidence that many
features characteristic of today's birds first evolved in their dinosaur
ancestors."
