A reconstruction from Professor Lida Xing’s Facebook profile
Dinosaur embryos are among the rarest fossils, and many of them are incomplete and with disjointed bones: this one is in excellent condition.
A perfectly preserved dinosaur embryo has been found in China, opening up new links between these prehistoric animals and modern birds. L’embryo of an oviraptosaurus, which scientists estimate it has at least 66 million years old, it was discovered a Ganzhou, in southern China, and has already been called “the best ever found in history,” according to the judgment of the lead researcher, Fion Waisum Ma.
The fossil was found in a curled, bird-like position before exiting the shell, and “this indicates that similar behavior in modern birds first evolved and originated among their dinosaur ancestors,” said the scientist. quoted by the AFP. And then, first time that this type of behavior is evidenced in the embryo of a dinosaur that could not fly.
The embryo was baptized Baby Yingliang, from the name of the mining group that found it and the natural history museum where it is kept. The discovery was the subject of an article published in the scientific journal iScience. The fossil measures 27 centimeters, and was discovered in 2000. The artifact has been preserved in stock for ten years, until the beginning of the construction works of the museum, when the cataloging works were started and the fossil attracted the attention of the researchers, who hypothesized the presence of an embryo inside it.
“Dinosaur embryos are among the rarest fossils, and many of them are incomplete and with disjointed bones, “commented Fion Waisum Ma, who is also a researcher at the University of Birmingham.” We are very excited by the discovery of baby Yingliang. “Part of the dinosaur’s body is still there. covered by layers of rock and further examinations will be needed, with the help of advanced scanning techniques, to have an image of the complete skeleton prehistoric animal and have a greater understanding of dinosaur embryos and theirs connection with today’s birds.