Photo: Lida Xing/iScience
A fossilized egg discovered in southern China contains one of the most complete dinosaur embryos ever discovered, researchers announced this week
In a paper published in the peer-reviewed journaliScienceon Tuesday, scientists said the embryo reveals the behavorial similarities between dinosaurs and modern day birds.
The fossil contains the partial embryo of a oviraptorid, a feathered two-legged carnivore closely related to birds, according to the journal. The fossilized egg dates back to the late Cretaceous period, which took place between 72 million to 66 million years ago.
“This dinosaur embryo inside its egg is one of the most beautiful fossils I have ever seen,” Professor Steve Brusatte from the University of Edinburgh, who is part of the research team, said in astatementto the University of Birmingham.
Lida Xing/iScience
“We were surprised to see this embryo beautifully preserved inside a dinosaur egg, lying in a bird-like posture. This posture had not been recognized in non-avian dinosaurs before,” Fion Waisum Ma, joint first author and Ph.D. researcher at the University of Birmingham, toldCNNin a statement.
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It is currently housed in the Yingliang Stone Natural History Museum in Xiamen, China.
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According toCBS News, researchers plan to continuing studying the fossil and will attempt to image its anatomy.
source: people.com
