- Title: Dinosaur egg found to contain 72-million-year-old embryo
- Date: 22nd December 2021
- Summary: HONG KONG, CHINA (DECEMBER 22, 2021) (Reuters) (SOUNDBITE) (English) LEAD AUTHOR OF STUDY ON DINOSAUR EMBRYO AT UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM, FION WAISUM MA, SAYING: "So, this is one of the best-preserved dinosaur embryos ever found and reported in science and because it is so well preserved, we can observe it's posture very clearly which allows us to compare it with other dinosaurs as well as modern birds."
- Embargoed: 5th January 2022 13:01
- Keywords: China University of Geoscience Dinosaur fossil Fion Waisum Ma University of Birmingham dinosaur egg embryo paleontology
- Location: ANIMATION/ HONG KONG, CHINA
- City: ANIMATION/ HONG KONG, CHINA
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Europe,Science
- Reuters ID: LVA002F94DZD3
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: A 72-million-year-old dinosaur embryo has been discovered inside a fossilised egg that scientists describe as one of the best-preserved specimens of its kind ever found.
The embryo, dubbed 'Baby Yingliang', was discovered in Ganzhou in southern China. It belongs to a toothless theropod dinosaur, or oviratorosaur, and is 72 to 66 million years old.
Scientists from the University of Birmingham in the UK and the China University of Geosciences in Beijing observed the embryo in a "tucking" position, which was previously thought to be the pre-hatching behaviour of birds.
"This behaviour has long been thought unique to birds but now we see evidence in our fossil that even in non-bird dinosaurs they might have the same type of pre-hatching behaviour," said Fion Waisum Ma, a joint lead author of the study from Birmingham University.
The fossilised egg was discovered in late cretaceous rock in 2000 but scientists have been examining it over the past four years, when the embryo inside was found. The findings of the study were published on Tuesday (December 21).
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