Photo of the oviraptorosaur embryo inside its fossilized egg. (Xing et al., iScience, 2021)
Nature's Science Alert has a story about a stunning dinosaur fossil. Found in China, a oviraptor egg has a baby dinosaur preserved in breathtaking detail. The egg dates to between 72 and 66 million years ago. The fossil was described in a paper in the journal iScience.
A rare and exquisitely preserved dinosaur embryo tucked inside an egg like a baby bird has been unearthed in southern China, providing an "unprecedented glimpse" into dinosaur development.
With a posture that resembles modern bird embryos close to hatching, the fossilized embryo is a remarkable find which raises the possibility that evolutionary links between modern birds and extinct dinosaurs run far deeper than previously thought.
"This dinosaur embryo inside its egg is one of the most beautiful fossils I have ever seen," paleontologist and study author Steve Brusatte at the University of Edinburgh said in a statement.
"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."
The embryo lying inside its fossilized egg dates between 72 and 66 million years old, and was identified as an oviraptorosaur, a group of feathered theropod dinosaurs which had distinct toothless, parrot-like beaks and sometimes elaborate crests as well.
