GANZHOU, China — Researchers in China announced Tuesday that an “exquisitely preserved,” fossilized dinosaur embryo was found in Ganzhou.
Envision the Cretaceous world, around 72-66 million years ago, and this cute fluffy oviraptorosaur curled up inside its egg. Typically stunning art by Julius Csotonyi. pic.twitter.com/ZHYkxvUtJK
— Steve Brusatte (@SteveBrusatte) December 21, 2021
According to the BBC and The Washington Post, the over 66 million-year-old embryo, dubbed “Baby Yingliang,” is curled up inside a fossilized egg. It appears to be a late Cretaceous oviraptorid theropod, scientists wrote in a peer-reviewed article published in the journal iScience.
Welcome 'Baby Yingliang'! An oviraptorosaur embryo lying inside an egg. This little dinosaur has a bird-like prehatching posture! In the team with @LidaXing1982, @SteveBrusatte and colleagues. Open access in @iScience_CP, https://t.co/6fM0UAuLui pic.twitter.com/GbS9UiO1iN
— Fion Ma (@FionMaWS) December 21, 2021
“The head lies ventral to the body, with the feet on either side, and the back curled along the blunt pole of the egg, in a posture previously unrecognized in a non-avian dinosaur, but reminiscent of a late-stage modern bird embryo,” the authors wrote.
The researchers now believe that bird embryos’ tucking behavior may have originated “among non-avian theropods,” according to the article.
Rare well-preserved dinosaur embryo has a bird-like pre-hatching posture, raising the possibility that this behavior first evolved among non-avian theropods during the Cretaceous. Learn more from this study in @iscience_cp: https://t.co/EPykTzjbyS@FionMaWS pic.twitter.com/DxRRzZX0ZI
— Cell Press (@CellPressNews) December 21, 2021
The egg, which measures about 6.6 inches long by 3 inches wide, was originally found in 2000 but remained in storage at the Yingliang Stone Nature History Museum for more than a decade, the BBC reported. Researchers rediscovered the fossil while sorting through items when construction work began at the facility, according to the news outlet.
©2021 Cox Media Group
