In southern China, British and Chinese scientists have discovered a perfectly preserved dinosaur embryo inside a fossilized egg.
The embryo, which is about 66 million years old and almost ready to hatch, is called the “Yinglian Baby” and belongs to the species of toothless feathered dinosaurs, the Oviraptorosaurs.
Dinosaur embryos are a very rare type of fossil. And found specimens of eggs were usually empty or with microscopic embryos. It is the most “mature” dinosaur embryo ever found on Earth.
The researchers, who published an article in the scientific journal iScience, calculated that the 27 centimeter embryo was curled up inside a 17 centimeter long egg, while the adult Oviraptorosaurs was probably two meters long.
Oviraptorosaurs lived in Asia and North America during the Late Cretaceous, 100 to 66 million years ago, and were both herbivores and carnivores.
It is noteworthy that this rare fossil was discovered in 2000, but it was kept in a museum for years, and until recently its great importance for science was not realized.
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