It is very rare to find an embryo in a good state of preservation, however in 2022, a fossilized oviraptosaurus embryo called Baby Yingliang was discovered in China, found in a state of excellent preservation.
Oviraptors were toothless, beaked, and feathered dinosaurs that resembled a mix between a bird and a reptile. These dinosaurs, sometimes called "chickensaurs," even hatched their eggs. The fossilization of Baby Yingliang is notable because most of the dinosaur eggs and embryos were crushed under layers of sediment, making their fragile bones unable to withstand pressure and the passage of time.
What makes Baby Yingliang particularly interesting is that it reveals that embryonic dinosaurs adopted a posture similar to that of modern-day bird embryos, curled up and ready to hatch. In a study published in iScience, the team of researchers led by Lida from the egg.
This "curling" posture, necessary for modern birds to hatch safely, appears to have been passed down from non-avian theropod dinosaurs to modern birds. Evolution tends to preserve successful behaviors, and the posture observed in Baby Yingliang suggests that this embryonic strategy was already present millions of years ago.
The research compared Baby Yingliang with other related dinosaurs and concluded that oviraptors, similar in size to an ostrich, adopted embryonic postures similar to those of birds. This postural control is governed by the central nervous system, indicating that the dinosaur's brain was already active before birth.
It was previously thought that this posture was exclusive to birds, but the discovery of Baby Yingliang shows that this is not the case. Oviraptors showed reproductive behaviors and morphologies similar to both birds and reptiles. Fossilized eggs have provided much information about dinosaur reproduction and nesting.
Although Baby Yingliang never lived, this small oviraptor, which fits in the palm of a hand, is capturing global attention and making history in the field of paleontology.
Approximate measurements of the Oviraptor:
- Full 1:1 Scale
- Length 135 mm
- Height 68 mm
- Width 56 mm
- Snout-tail length 270 mm
Approximate measurements of the Oviraptor:
- Full 1:1 Scale
- Length 127mm
- Height 69mm
- Width 64mm
- Snout-tail length 270 mm
